


Coming home

by Saysi



Category: Free!
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, Morning Cuddles, Post-Canon, Post-Eternal Summer, Sleepy Cuddles, Slice of Life, cuddling and stuff, fluff n stuff, kissy kissy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-30
Packaged: 2018-09-12 14:51:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 47,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9077359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saysi/pseuds/Saysi
Summary: When Haru's swim team is invited to compete in Sydney, it makes for a great opportunity to visit an old friend.





	1. Day 1

The sun was barely up when Haru walked off the plane, following a line of people down a long hallway. In his backpack he had a pile of papers far thicker than really necessary, and he retrieved them now as he dug for his passport. For at least a week Rin had been worrying about him, spending a good portion of every night bombarding him with instructions, all of which had ended up in the pile in Haru's hand. Haru wasn't particularly inclined to worry about any of it, although he had gone as far as writing out a few English phrases he figured he might need.  
He had, in fact, proudly shown his work to Rin to reassure him that he was prepared, only to get a ridiculously long lecture about how his spelling was beyond terrible. He'd argued briefly that he'd written them in a way such that he could read them to someone if he needed help, but when Rin had sent him back a corrected version he had quickly replaced his own shoddy work.  
For now, the only instructions that mattered were about getting through security. Rin had explained the little blue kiosks to him where he could insert the right page of his passport to save time and effort, and sure enough it didn't take long at all for him to take the little ticket and move on to his next station. It was all mindless, really. Follow a crowd, insert a ticket, stand on a spot, look at a camera. Take your ticket, hand over some forms, show someone your passport, shake your head when they ask “do you have any-”. All he'd brought with him was clothes, he hadn't even bothered with a suitcase, so the security process was really rather pointless.  
Finally they sent him down a hallway painted green, and he turned to the first page of his instructions as he walked. Trains. He knew the station would be below him, but he had to first find the stairs to take him there. Then he had to buy a card to pay for the trains. Rin had been concerned enough to give him an entire transcript of how that conversation would go, just in case. He'd tried to roleplay it, in fact, to make Haru practice, but that idea had quickly been shot down. Buy a card, find the train with the right words on it, hope it was empty enough to take a nap on the way. He knew from last time that the trip wasn't very long, though, so there probably wasn't much point.  
His flight had been delayed before he'd even boarded, leaving him sitting in an airport for far longer than he'd planned on, staring at a slowly draining phone battery. It didn't really matter, he supposed, since it wasn't going to cause problems with hotel check-ins or missing trains. If anything, arriving a little later meant he'd be navigating the city in daylight, so maybe it was for the best.  
As the corridor gave way into a vaguely familiar airport a surprisingly large crowd of people came into view, waiting at the gates for their friends and loved ones to arrive. A few people held signs with people's names written on them, and Haru found himself glancing over them, testing how quickly he could decipher the letters.  
Despite Rin's protests and lectures suggesting otherwise, he really had been trying.  
He saw a flash of red as he walked past the crowd, and it felt like his heart skipped a beat, his head whipping around to look.  
Gone.  
He shook it off quickly, reminding himself that he had to look for a train station, or at the very least a flight of stairs going down. This part should be easy, by all rights. He'd been there before, after all, even if he didn't remember anything about it.  
“You'll remember when you see it” Rin had assured him “it's really not difficult”  
“I wasn't paying attention last time” Haru had told him with a shrug “I just followed you”  
“What? You didn't look at where we were going? At all?”  
“Why would I? You're the one who dragged me there”  
His heart was pounding again suddenly, and this time he stopped, looking straight at the row of black plastic chairs near the window. A familiar frame was slumped over in one, leaning his head on his hand as his eyes slowly searched the crowd. His maroon hair was tied back in the familiar little ponytail, but much of it was escaping the elastic to fall over his face. He didn't bother to push it away though, just sat and watched through his obstructed vision, an air of tiredness hanging over him. For a solid minute Haru just stood and stared at him, wondering if he would vanish if he blinked too hard or too quickly. Eventually, as if he sensed he was being watched, the red eyes slowly turned toward him and shot open, his phone clattering to the floor as he leapt to his feet. With strangely clumsy motions he grabbed it and shoved it in his pocket, wove through the clusters of people, and stopped right in front of Haru.  
For a moment Haru thought Rin was going to hug him, and found himself grimacing as he braced himself, but it never came. Instead they just stood and silently stared at each other, as if neither of them were willing to speak first.  
“How was your flight?” Rin asked finally, as if they had only been apart for a week “did you manage to sleep?”  
“It was late”  
“Yeah, I got that” he smiled wryly “other than that”  
“I had to sit in the airport for an extra four hours”  
“So did I. You could have told me”  
“You said you had to work”  
“I took the day off”  
“I would have told you, if you'd told me you took the day off”  
“Good point. Come on, let's get going”  
He took a few steps away, but Haru didn't move - just stood and watched him for a moment.  
“What?” he asked knowingly, looking back over his shoulder “come on”  
“Why are you here?”  
“To pick you up, obviously”  
“But why?”  
“I was worried” he admitted with a grin “I thought you might get lost”  
He looked down at the pile of instructions in his hand and Rin laughed, nodding slightly.  
“Exactly. But I didn't want to get a phone call from the police telling me you'd wandered in lost because you had 'left' and 'right' around the wrong way”  
“Right is that one” Haru said quietly, pointing in the relevant direction “I would have been fine”  
“I know you would've. This was for me, so I could stop stressing, not for you to get there safely”  
Rin waved for him to follow, and reluctantly Haru took a few steps after him, paying a little more attention to his surroundings this time. It was a little strange how quiet Rin was as they walked, although it occurred to Haru that he must have been up incredibly early to be here, especially if he had been here for the original arrival time rather than the delay.  
“Thank you” he mumbled after a moment, not bothering to look over  
Rin didn't say anything, but Haru saw a flash of a smile out the corner of his eye before he quickly looked away again.

The train was five minutes late, which Rin assured him was normal, and surprisingly empty when they walked on. He followed Rin up a small flight of stairs and dumped his backpack in the hold above the seats, dropping rather heavily onto the bench beside Rin and sighing faintly.  
“What?” Rin asked knowingly “Tired?”  
“Yeah”  
“Didn't sleep much on the plane, then, huh?”  
“There was a baby”  
“Oh, crying the whole time?”  
“Yeah”  
“Just what you want on a ten hour flight. The area where I live is pretty quiet, so you can sleep for a bit when we get back, if you want”  
He didn't bother to reply, just leaned back in his seat and looked across at the opposite window, watching blurry images dart by. He zoned out as the train moved, barely focusing on fuzzy scenery, not hearing Rin's mumbles as he tried to come up with something to talk about, until Rin stood up beside him.  
“The next stop is ours” He said as he stood up, taking Haru's backpack from above them “come on”  
He held out a hand for his bag but Rin shrugged it over one shoulder and headed for the doors, and Haru hurried after him, following him down the stairs.  
“Do you still live with your homestay parents?” Haru asked, as they waited near the doors  
“No, I have my own apartment. Near where I swim, and not far from work either”  
“Oh”  
“We have dinner every Sunday, though”  
“Oh”  
The train slowly ground to a halt and this time Haru stayed closer to Rin's side rather than follow behind him. With the heat and humidity hitting them he envied the singlet Rin was wearing. His own t-shirt was sticking to his back, although he'd been freezing cold on the plane and hadn't yet decided which was worse. It wasn't long before the next train arrived, though, and air conditioning in the carriages made him more comfortable for the five or so minutes they were there.  
“Isn't this where we came last time?” Haru asked, as they stepped off at the other end  
“You remember it after all” Rin laughed “I told you I live near where I swim”  
“How near?”  
“Almost on top of it. It takes me five minutes on a bad day”  
“Oh”  
Sure enough, within minutes they were in a cooled lobby and Haru breathed a sigh of relief when they stepped into the elevator, relaxing in the almost too-cold building. His eyes were closed, so he didn't notice Rin smiling fondly at him, watching him quietly as they shot up through the floors.  
“This way” he said, when the elevator stopped “I'm down here”  
Haru followed obediently, as he felt like he'd done a thousand times in his life, and found himself surprised when Rin unlocked the door on an apartment that looked almost brand new.  
“It's nice, right?” he grinned, when he saw Haru's face “I'm the first one to live here”  
Haru didn't bother to say anything, slipping his shoes off at the door despite Rin walking in with his still on, immediately explaining the muddy wooden floors in the front hallway. He stepped neatly around the footprints to keep his socks clean, only half-listening to the rambling escaping Rin's lips.  
“I don't have a bath though, sorry. Just a shower”  
“It's fine”  
“You can swim as much as you want, though. I have a bunch of guest passes saved up. I already started one for you last night, in case you want to swim today”  
“Thank you”  
“It's nothing. There's only one bedroom, too, so I'll sleep in the living room and you can have the bed”  
“You don't have to”  
“It's nothing, you're on vacation. I'll be in and out a bunch to work and train anyway. Are you hungry?”  
Haru's stomach answered before he could even begin to think of speaking, and Rin laughed at him as he opened the fridge, rummaging through the meager contents.  
“Sorry, haven't been shopping in a while. I'm gonna run to the convenience store down the road, anything in particular that you want?”  
Haru shrugged, and Rin smiled faintly at him as he checked his pockets for his phone and wallet.  
“I'll be back in five, then. Make yourself at home, if you want to sleep or shower or anything”  
The door clicked shut behind him and Haru decided to satisfy his faint curiosity, wandering the rooms to explore where Rin had been living for the past few years. The bedroom was vaguely tidy, the sheets freshly changed, the dirty clothing gathered into a basket in the corner, but when he sneaked a peek into the closet he found where all the mess had been relocated to. Rin had always kept up the appearance of being a tidy person, but Haru knew better. While he kept the important things organised, and his desk at school had always been impeccable, he also had a habit of letting things get out of control when he was busy – and it seemed like Australia had definitely been keeping him busy. Haru was rummaging through the bathroom cabinets when Rin came back and gave him a questioning look.  
“Where are the towels?”  
“Oh, sorry”  
He set down the plastic grocery bag in the kitchen and opened a hall cupboard, throwing a big bath towel at Haru before he returned to dump the contents on the counter.  
“Do you want to eat first or shower first?”  
“Shower?” he asked innocently, sitting down on a little stool at the kitchen counter “I was going to go swim”  
“Really? Already?”  
Haru shrugged, and Rin grinned at him as he slid a plate of food across the bench.  
“Okay, I'll take you when you've eaten”  
“I'm sure I can find it”  
“I'm not just going to leave you to wander the park on your own. I told you I don't have to work today, I have no other plans anyway”  
“Oh”  
Rin frowned slightly, considering him as he ate, but decided it wasn't worth questioning him any further and instead settled in with his own breakfast.

“This is Haruka”  
It was the only sentence Haru understood before the English became too fast and too hard for him to keep up, instead staring blankly as Rin chatted to the two guys he obviously knew well. He spoke with his hands, too, gesturing almost wildly as they all laughed, and Haru wondered when he had become so open – or if he'd always been that way, and Haru had just failed to notice. It came with a pang in his chest that he thought must be guilt, guilt that he'd paid no real attention to his friend outside of their video calls twice a week, that he'd never asked any questions when Rin told him stories. Maybe he'd been jealous, in a way, that Rin was so excited about what he was doing, that he was off in another country, while Haru was making no real effort to even get to know his new teammates at home.  
“Haru?” Rin asked, waving slightly to get his attention “These are my teammates”  
Haru nodded as he introduced them, forcing a 'nice to meet you' with the best pronunciation he could muster, although he couldn't quite manage a smile to go with it. Rin clapped one of them on the shoulder before they said goodbye to Haru and left, and he felt that same pang again as they touched.  
“Sorry” Rin smiled at him “I missed training this morning, they thought I must have been sick”  
“Why did you miss training?”  
Rin gave him a pointed look, and he found himself more surprised than he really should be.  
“Missing work is one thing” Haru muttered “but training too?”  
“It's fine, I told my coach I'd do the sets on my own time. It's the first one I've ever missed, so he cut me some slack for it. Other people take vacations and things”  
“Oh”  
Rin frowned slightly, but didn't say anything. Instead he waved Haru to follow again and led him to the changing rooms, a little surprised that Haru wasn't already wearing his swimsuit under his clothes.  
“Ready?” Rin asked, as Haru folded his clothes “it'll be pretty empty at this time of day, so we can pretty much do what we want”  
“Okay”  
“Are you alright?”  
“Yeah”  
He decided to blame his friend's strange lack of enthusiasm on jet lag, and figured maybe some time in the water would help. If not, a good night's sleep should do the job, anyway. So for now, he left his gear under the bench in the changing room, and grinned back at Haru as he led the way to the massive, sparkling pool he'd come to know so well.

By the time they got back to Rin's apartment Haru found himself exhausted, the long night and the plane ride finally catching up to him again. Rin pointed him to the bedroom with a grin, settling on the couch with his laptop as Haru tried awkwardly to find words, and brushed it off easily.  
“Seriously, it's not a problem. Go get some sleep, you need it”  
Haru considered asking what on Earth he meant by that, not entirely sure if he should be insulted or not, but in the end he decided it was far too much effort.  
“Thank you” he mumbled, closing the bedroom door behind him.  
He found his pajamas right at the bottom of his backpack after digging for a while, sighing to himself as he dragged them out.  
“Of course they would be” he mumbled, pulling his damp shirt over his head to change.  
As he pulled back the blankets of the bed he glanced at the pillows on the other side, frowning to himself as he picked up the one on the top and returned to the hallway with it.  
“Everything okay?” Rin asked, without looking up “need something?”  
“In case I don't get up again” Haru said faintly, throwing the pillow onto the couch beside Rin.  
“Oh, thank you” Rin grinned, sneaking a glance Haru's way “you have a surprisingly good memory. Sometimes”  
“Not really”  
He left it at that and returned to the bedroom, relishing the feel of cool, clean sheets around him, but not bothering with the heavier blanket on top. He was comfortable, with the dull hum of the air conditioning unit going in the corner to keep him from boiling to death, but it still took a long while of staring at the white-painted ceiling for him to doze off.


	2. Day 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haru begins to settle in to his vacation-home

Haru was still sound asleep when Rin left for training in the morning, leaving a scrawled note on the kitchen bench telling him where to find food, keys, gym access, and everything else he could think of that the guy might possibly want while Rin was at work. He felt a little guilty about leaving Haru alone, even though he knew that to Haru it would probably be kind of a relief.  
As much as he loved every training session he went to, and as much as he enjoyed every day of work at his job, it seemed like the longest day in the world just knowing Haru was at home. He wondered if he had left the building at all, whether he'd eaten or ran or swam at all, or whether he'd just sat around reading or drawing all day. Not that he should really be concerned, if that was what Haru chose to do, since he'd be just as happy either way. At least, as long as Rin took him swimming in the evening, so he didn't have to go a day without being in the pool. But Rin would, and he was pretty sure Haru knew that.  
When the next person on staff arrived Rin quickly gathered his things, barely even saying hello as he left, waving a few quick goodbyes to the people he worked with but not stopping for fear of getting sucked into a conversation. He was sweating when he got to the elevator, from a combination of the awful humidity outside and the fact that he'd basically sprinted the trip back, but when he reached the door he paused to compose himself before he stuck his key in the lock.  
“Haru, I'm- woah.”  
He stopped dead in the hallway, letting the door swing closed behind him as he stared at the shining wooden floors, the basket of washed and folded laundry by the bedroom door, the shelf where he left his wallet and keys that was suddenly clear of dust.  
“Haru?” he asked faintly “were you bored?”  
“Take your shoes off” was the only reply he got “don't drag mud in here again”  
He obediently wiped his shoes on the mat and set them off to the side, marveling as he walked through to find the kitchen and living room equally as shining clean.  
“Is this really how you spent your first day?”  
“It was a mess in here”  
“Hardly. I admit I hadn't dusted in a while, I'm not here all that much, but it was not a mess”  
“It was bad” Haru said flatly “the oven especially”  
“You cleaned the oven?”  
“I had to, if I was going to use it”  
Rin realised the little red lights were glowing, the fan was buzzing faintly, and he looked again at Haru in confusion.  
“Are you cooking?”  
“Yes”  
“How? What?”  
“I went shopping” he clarified, his face still expressionless “there was nothing in the fridge”  
“Sorry, I meant to go this evening, I just came back to change first”  
“You don't need to now”  
He pulled open the fridge door just to show Rin the cleaned, organised, and filled shelves inside, letting it swing closed again as he moved.  
“Were you bored?” Rin asked again, smiling slightly “sorry, I figured you wouldn't want to brave the outside world on your own, but I couldn't really take the whole two weeks off work”  
“I went shopping” Haru repeated, without looking back  
“Oh yeah, I guess you did. Wow, was it hard?”  
“Not really”  
“Your English must be improving”  
“I didn't need to speak”  
“You just handed stuff over and didn't say a word?”  
“I said hello”  
“I guess that's something” Rin smiled fondly “are you feeling better today?”  
“Better?”  
“You didn't seem much like yourself yesterday, I figured you were tired”  
“Oh”  
“Like that” he mumbled, frowning now “you keep just ending a conversation with 'oh' out of nowhere”  
“Is that not like me?”  
“Not really. I mean, you're always quiet, but not like this”  
“Oh. I mean... Sorry?”  
“Don't, you don't need to apologise. I just mean... Are you okay? Is there anything I can do?”  
Haru stared at him blankly, and it took a moment for Rin to realise he'd broken into English mid-sentence, shaking his head faintly before he repeated the questions in Japanese.  
“I'm fine” Haru shrugged  
“Did I do something wrong? You've been like this since the airport, should I not have to come meet you?”  
“You didn't have to, but it's not a problem”  
“Before you left, then? Did I say something? I can't remember what we talked about that night. Was I worrying too much and lecturing you again?”  
“Not really”  
“Then what? Why are you being so...”  
Rin trailed off as he tried to think of the word, struggling to find anything to really convey his meaning.  
“Distant” he said in English, even though he knew Haru wouldn't understand “you're being distant”  
“What does that mean?”  
“It's like you're standing right here but you feel really far away. Like maybe you're regretting coming here. Or you don't really want to see me. Did Makoto make you come here, when I invited you? Did you not want to?”  
“Makoto doesn't even know I'm here”  
“What?”  
“I didn't tell him. I just came”  
“Don't you tell him everything?”  
“Not really”  
“Does anyone know you're here?”  
“Not really”  
Rin froze, trying to decipher Haru's face, his voice, the way he stood, but all of it just seemed too uncaring, too cold for him to read.  
“You're going to have to help me out here, Haru. I don't know what's going on”  
“What's going on?”  
“Sorry” Rin grimaced, only noticing the English when Haru repeated it “it's kind of become habit now”  
“I knew before now. It's fine.”  
Haru was looking at the floor as he spoke, and Rin was tempted to reach out and make him look up, make him meet his eyes, but he balled his hands into fists and restrained himself.  
“Please talk to me, Haru. Tell me what I did wrong”  
“Did you do something wrong?”  
“It certainly seems like it”  
Haru shrugged and returned to the oven, pulling out a few dishes and checking the contents before he turned off the knobs.  
“Are you hungry?”  
“Yeah, I am” Rin said softly “I just need to change”  
He ducked into the bedroom to find clean clothes in his closet, reminding himself not to dump his dirty things on the floor while Haru was staying. A little stuffed shark was sitting on the side of the bed where Rin normally slept, something he'd owned since he was a kid without any real memory of where it came from. He smiled to himself as he looked at it, well aware that it hadn't been on the bed when he left the day before, but resolved to pretend he hadn't noticed if the topic came up.  
Haru had already served the food when Rin returned from the bedroom, sitting down and immediately being given a full plate and glass.  
“You make a good housewife” Rin smiled, in an attempt to lighten the mood “I might have to keep you longer”  
Haru scoffed quietly but didn't bother to argue as he picked up his own plate and sat it down beside Rin's.  
There were four stools at the island in Rin's kitchen, he had never bothered to get a proper table since he rarely had guests. To his surprise Haru took the one right next to him, leaving two empty ones to his left rather than create a gap between them.  
“What?” he asked knowingly  
“Nothing” Rin grinned “it's fine”  
“You complain when I do that”  
“Do what?”  
“Don't answer questions properly”  
“You're right, I'm kind of a hypocrite”  
“So what are you smiling about?”  
“It's nice that you sat beside me” he shrugged faintly, doing his best to seem nonchalant “even though you didn't have to”  
“You complained about me being far away”  
Rin couldn't stop himself from laughing, clapping a hand over his mouth, and for once Haru showed a hint of emotion when he turned to look at Rin with surprise and confusion.  
“Lost in translation” Rin grinned “acting far away, not being far away.”  
“I don't understand”  
“No, I know you don't” Rin laughed again, clapping him on the shoulder lightly “it's okay”  
He stared at his hand as he took it away, immediately regretting to motion as he pulled it back quickly, cursing himself for getting carried away. To his surprise, when he went to apologise, he found Haru blushing as he stared into his rice bowl.  
“What?” he asked softly, leaning against the counter to see Haru's face a little better “what did I do?”  
“That's the first time you've touched me since we've been here”  
“I know, I've been trying not to force you, but I didn't think. Sorry.”  
“Force me to do what?”  
“I know you don't really like to be touched, so I've been trying to be more respectful”  
“I don't care if you touch me”  
“Really?”  
“I...” he trailed off, his eyes darting away as Rin continued to peer at him curiously “I thought I'd done something wrong”  
“Why?”  
“Because you didn't hug me at the airport”  
Rin stared at him, open-mouthed, and for a long time neither of them spoke. It was awkward, in a way, since Rin wanted so badly to say the right thing, but there was also something comforting about the realisation and the sudden dawning understanding.  
“Is that why you've been weird?” he asked finally “because I didn't hug you?”  
“Maybe”  
“You always complain when I hug you, I was trying to be nice”  
“Just because I complain doesn't mean I hate it”  
Rin grinned as he threw his arms around the guy, almost knocking the stool over with the force, pulling him tightly to his chest. Haru flooded red, his eyes wide, but didn't utter a word of protest despite his chopsticks clattering to the floor and making a mess on the freshly cleaned wood.  
“I wanted nothing more than to dive on you, but I thought you'd be annoyed, especially in public. If I'd known you were going to get so paranoid I would have held your hand the whole way back”  
“Shut up” Haru mumbled, blushing again “don't get carried away”  
“You know I'm a touchy person, if you want a hug just give me a hug”  
“I'm never going to do that”  
“Well now you're going to have to put up with it, anyway. You shouldn't have admitted that you like it”  
“I didn't say I liked it”  
“Not hating it is the same as liking it, from you”  
“But I didn't say it”  
“You didn't have to”  
He finally released Haru from his grip when his stomach started to growl, laughing as Haru immediately started cleaning the mess off the floor.  
“It can wait until you've eaten, come on”  
“I don't want to step in it”  
“It's your own food anyway”  
“That's not the point”  
“Fine” Rin sighed, sliding off his stool to help “the things I do for you”  
He set a clean pair on Haru's plate before he came back with a damp cloth, wiping the bits of rice and fish up and rinsing them off into the sink.  
“Happy now?” he asked, as he washed his hands “all better?”  
“Yeah”  
Rin grinned as he turned around to go back to his dinner, stopping when he found Haru watching him, smiling faintly. The bright blue eyes could almost have been laughing at him, as they met with Rin's deep red, and there was a long pause as they smiled at each other, before they found their senses and returned to their meals.

There was a storm brewing outside, Rin knew from experience. The evening had gotten dark too early, had gotten chilly compared to their blistering hot days as of late, and the breeze whipping through his damp hair was far stronger than it really should have been. Haru seemed to relish it, especially given how much the humidity had been bothering him, but he looked confused when they got back to the apartment and Rin turned off the central air.  
“It'll be colder tonight” he explained “you won't want it”  
“I was hot last night”  
“Even with the air conditioning?”  
“Yeah”  
“Sorry, I'll turn it higher if it gets hot again”  
“It's fine”  
He hadn't brought any warm clothes with him, since he'd heard Rin complain about how Australian summers far too much. It wasn't officially summer yet – in fact, to be fair, it was barely spring – but Rin had been talking about how nice the weather was, how summer seemed to be coming way too early this year. Now Haru was beginning to wonder if he was going to need them, if he should have brought a coat or a rain jacket just in case. The rain had begun, and Haru sat at the window for a while, watching it drizzle over what was usually a beautiful view of the park below. Rin patted his back lightly as he passed, retrieving a dry towel from the hall cupboard, and he smiled when Haru blushed a little again.   
“I'm gonna take a shower” he said needlessly “I'll cook tonight, you relax”  
“You can cook?”  
“I live on my own, of course I can cook”  
“Okay”  
He disappeared into the bathroom with a smile, and Haru picked up the sketchbook he'd been flipping through earlier, as he toyed with the idea of adding some images of Australia. He had a solid three weeks here, with barely two days passed so far. It didn't seem like long enough, since he knew the better part of week three would be taken up by his coach and teammates arriving, by training in the pool he hoped to be intimately familiar with before they arrived. The meet had been a good excuse to visit Rin, really. As soon as he'd heard they were travelling to Sydney he had resolved to ask to stay at Rin's place, to avoid the crowded, noisy hotels he usually ended up stuck in. He'd spent weeks trying to work out how to phrase it, how to ask, how to bring it up. But in the end, it had been Rin who had asked. He had found out the Japanese national team would be there, had asked around to make sure Haru was on the list, and as soon as he'd gotten confirmation he had run home to make the call. While Haru was still working out how to slip the topic into conversation, Rin had already been bursting with plans.  
“You should come stay with me” he had said brightly, excitedly “Come early, I'll show you around Sydney some more, we can hang out before the competition stuff starts”  
Haru had nodded his agreement without hesitating, had opened the calendar on his phone under the computer desk, and had been well prepared when Rin had asked the question.  
“When can you come?”  
“I start summer break on August sixth” Haru had told him “So I could come for a week or something, if you want me to”  
“Forget a week” Rin had laughed “come as soon as you finish your classes, I haven't seen you in forever”  
And now here he was, on August ninth, sitting in Rin's living room for a competition that wasn't until the twenty-sixth. His coach hadn't been terribly happy about the idea, but even he had heard stories about the famed Rin Matsuoka – albeit not from Haru. He had promised to swim every day, which wasn't really a stretch to believe, to follow the routines emailed to him, and his coach had conceded that yes, he could leave early.   
He jumped when he heard the bathroom door open, realising he had been lost in his thoughts the whole time Rin showered, and felt a hand on his shoulder as Rin leaned over to look.  
“Are these new?” he asked, flipping a page “I haven't seen these”  
“Not really. Maybe a year old”  
“Why haven't I seen them?”  
Haru shrugged faintly, resisting the urge to slam the book shut even now, and Rin seemed to notice the tension that had seeped into him.  
“Sorry” he smiled softly, taking his hand away “should I not be looking?”  
“I don't know”  
“Not University work, then?”  
“No”  
He sat down on the edge of the couch, still dressed only in his towel, and leaned his elbows on his knees as he studied Haru's face.  
“What makes them special?”  
Haru was caught off guard by the question, realising Rin had perfectly summed up why that one notebook was different, where Haru had been unable to find the words. Not private, not secret, not personal. Just special.  
“These are the ones I do when I travel” he said finally “for competitions and things usually”  
“Usually?”  
“Sometimes I get dragged to see people from school who live in other places now”  
“You and Sousuke have been hanging out?” Rin grinned teasingly   
“Yeah, sometimes”  
“Wait, really? I was just joking”  
“Once or twice”  
“How is he?”  
“He's okay. You don't talk to him?”  
“Not much” Rin shrugged faintly “You're the only person I talk to frequently”  
“He has a girlfriend” Haru offered, struggling to come up with some kind of information to offer “I haven't met her though”  
“Is he swimming again?”  
“Kind of”  
“Kind of?”  
“I don't think he competes. If he does, it's... not at a high level”  
“I'm not surprised. He had to have surgery, in the end”  
“We all knew he would”  
“I guess so”  
They fell silent, and Haru felt like he began to understand why Rin hadn't been speaking to Sousuke, as the room filled with guilt from the both of them.   
“Here” Haru mumbled, throwing the book into Rin's lap “I'm going to shower too”  
“Are you sure?”  
“Yeah”  
He headed for the bathroom and Rin opened the front cover tenderly, taking his time to admire the images Haru had filled it with – some rough and sketchy, like he'd done them in a hurry as they passed through a town, others detailed and intricate, where he must have spent a long time in the same place.   
“You're incredible” Rin told Haru, when he returned “I thought your stuff for university was good already, but these are fantastic”  
“Not really”  
“I'm serious”  
“Thanks, I guess”  
He headed for the kitchen while Rin continued to look through the pages, taking a moment to realise what Haru was doing.  
“Hey, I said I'd cook”  
“You're busy, you can cook tomorrow”  
“You're on holiday, you shouldn't get stuck cooking and cleaning all the time”  
“It's fine”  
“I'm serious”  
“I like doing it. Really.”  
“Really?”  
“Really” he repeated, smiling faintly to himself “It's fine”  
“Well, alright” Rin grumbled “but only because I want to keep looking at these before you take it back and decide I can't anymore”  
“Okay”  
“Okay?”  
“Okay”  
They exchanged a quick little smile, and Rin went back to the book in his hands, quickly forgetting about the storm outside, the impending cold, and the fact that he was still only wearing a towel.

“Rin?” Haru mumbled, poking his head through the doorway “Rin, are you awake?”  
He didn't answer, and Haru grumbled as he looked at the remote he'd seen Rin use earlier, trying and failing to decipher the words on the buttons.  
“Rin” he said again “it's cold”  
There was a faint mumble from the young man, but no words, no movement, and Haru muttered some more as he put the remote away and returned to the bedroom, pulling the heavy duvet from the bed.  
Rin woke up with a lump under his arm, with hair tickling his face, and surprisingly warm considering the thunder he could hear outside. When he moved a hand to push his hair out of his way he felt the lump move, heard a little groan, and finally he opened his eyes properly to look. His cheeks burned red when he saw the dark hair on his pillow, found the hands clinging lightly to his singlet, felt his arm draped across the figure like it was no big deal. The duvet from his bed was pulled over the both of them, although Haru seemed to have more than half the blankets tucked in behind him, and Rin lay dead still as he contemplated what to do. In the end he just closed his eyes again and pretended he'd never woken in the first place, his arm curling a little tighter around Haru's waist.


	3. Day 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even Australia has to deal with bad weather

For the first time in a long time, Rin decided to skip his morning run. Even a few days ago when he'd put everything on hold to meet Haru at the airport, he'd opted to skip the first train and run to the station where he would normally change lines. But today was different. The weather outside was still pretty bad, which was strike one. It was colder than he'd anticipated, so he hadn't turned on the heating, and the blankets were warm. That was strike two.  
Strike three, of course, was the little ball of comfort curled up beside him. He had deigned to leave Rin some blankets, at least, although he wouldn't go as far as calling it a fair share. Rin had barely moved since he woke up in the middle of the night, with his arm still slung over the young man's waist, but at some point Haru had curled up tighter and closer, had leaned his forehead into Rin's chest. His face was softer when he slept, Rin noticed. That meant there was some kind of conscious thought going behind his usual mask of uncaring, that it wasn't entirely unintentional. His eyelids flickered open as Rin was studying him, his eyes strangely bright and innocent, and Rin's fingertips brushed lightly over his cheek.  
“Morning” he smiled wryly “you got cold, huh?”  
“Yeah” he mumbled, rolling away from Rin's hand and out of the blankets “couldn't work out the heater”  
“Sorry, I didn't expect it to get that bad”  
“It's fine”  
Rin yawned as he sat up, watching Haru drift toward the bathroom in his grey sweatpants, his baggy blue t-shirt, with his messy bed hair. He didn't really want to get up, he'd have much preferred to stay right where he was, and maybe to coax Haru to come back and join him. But he had training soon, like every morning, and he knew that even if he tried Haru wouldn't let him miss it.  
“Are you coming to the pool with me?” He asked, when they traded places in the bathroom “or do you want to go later?”  
“Yes”  
“Yes?”  
“Both”  
“Okay” Rin laughed “I should have seen that coming”  
Haru was making breakfast when Rin finished using the bathroom and getting dressed, and he was surprised to see that for once it wasn't just fish. He'd gone through the effort of making soup and fried eggs, and as Rin returned he began scooping rice out of the rice cooker, setting a few bowls on the counter in front of Rin's usual seat.   
“Seriously” Rin mumbled, as he stuffed his mouth with food “I'm gonna have to keep you”  
Haru smiled slightly but didn't say a word as he served his own breakfast, not making eye contact as he sat down in the same seat as yesterday, his arm brushing lightly against Rin's side as he shuffled into position. Rin resisted the urge to hug him again, figuring if he made Haru spill his food again he would start to get annoyed, and turned his attention back to his own bowls.  
Haru's idea of getting dressed this morning had apparently consisted of throwing a t-shirt over his swimsuit. While he wasn't really surprised by it at all, Rin wondered how much thought he'd put into the process, whether he'd thought to pack a change of clothes for later – or anything, for that matter.   
“You ready to go?” he asked, when they'd both finished eating “I'll do the dishes later, don't worry about it now”  
“Okay”  
“Do you have a bag?”  
“No”  
“Why not?”  
“I didn't bring one”  
“Honestly” Rin sighed, opening a cupboard to dig out one of his spares “dry clothes, towel, cap, goggles, water bottle. Go”  
“I know how to pack a bag”  
“I'll buy you lunch after training, so don't worry about food”  
“Okay”  
“Jacket” Rin added, as Haru headed for the bedroom “it's not gonna get much warmer today”  
Haru mumbled something Rin couldn't quite make out, but he didn't bother to ask him to repeat it. He waited in the hall with his bag slung over his shoulder, his hood pulled up over his ears, and sighed when Haru returned, still in his t-shirt.  
“I meant for the walk there, not just for after”  
“What?”  
“Warm clothes”  
“It's only five minutes”  
“You'll get sick”  
“It's fine”  
Rin frowned at him but gave up trying to argue, sighing as he conceded a nod.   
“Come on then, let's go”

Rin was preparing on the blocks when Haru stopped to breathe, leaning against the edge of the pool as he watched. There were three of them, and somehow Rin was the smallest. A little scowl of concentration was fixed on his face, and Haru was honestly a little surprised that Rin seemed to take a regular daily training session so seriously. As soon as the whistle blew he was gone, the first off the blocks, and Haru sank down a little in the water as he watched them, as he watched Rin throw a turn that was even faster than the ones that had previously outpaced him, as he watched the other two men fall further behind, as he watched Rin climb out of the pool with a self-satisfied grin before the others had even finished.   
He'd gotten good, Haru realised. Better than he'd ever imagined.  
He turned back to his own lane before Rin could see him looking, back to the long stretch of crystal clear water and the sets Haru suspected were actually a lot longer than what his teammates were doing. But he didn't feel like being serious, he didn't feel like racing through the sprint laps, trying to shave milliseconds off his time. Right now, he just wanted to swim. Wanted to do it his own way.  
Rin had promised they could come back later. At least, as far as Haru was concerned it was a promise. So he abandoned the list from his coach and gave himself to the water, swam peacefully back and forth, back and forth. At times he stopped and just floated, staring at the high ceilings and the metal poles that wove diamonds above him, at the rows and rows of bright lights. He'd managed to swim in some pretty impressive pools over the past few years, but this one was different. The rest were just a part of his life, a part of what he did. But this one, at least to some extent, was the reason he was doing it.  
“Haru”  
He jumped, turning to face Rin on the side of the pool in his soaked red and black leggings, smiling softly. His hair was still entirely wet, no doubt the last one out of the water, and even as his teammates called their farewells to each other his eyes were locked only with Haru's.  
“How are you going? Did you get through your sets?”  
“Not really”  
“Why not?”  
He shrugged slightly, leaning his arms on the edge of the pool and tugging on the hem of Rin's swimsuit, watching a tiny stream of water trickle out.  
“Yeah, they're old” Rin smiled faintly “this isn't my competition suit, don't worry”  
“I know”  
“You been watching my meets, huh?”  
“That one isn't competition legal”  
“Good point.”  
“Wanna race me?”  
“What? Now?”  
“Yeah. I'm meant to do three sprints”  
“You don't want to?”  
“Not really. Might be more fun if we're racing”  
“Okay, sure”  
He offered Haru a hand and helped haul him out of the pool, the two of them walking back around to the starting blocks.  
“What are you meant to sprint?”  
“Three fifties. Or we could just do a two hundred”  
“You really want to sprint a two hundred?”  
“I don't see why not. Gets it over with”  
“Alright then, you asked for it” Rin laughed, pulling his cap and goggles back on  
“There's no timer in here” Haru pointed out, as he stepped onto the blocks “you count it down”  
“Fine. Three, two, one!”  
Haru felt like he was flying, for the brief moment before his fingertips sank into the water, before his whole body submerged into the cool liquid he often called home. His kick was much more powerful than his earlier practice, a sudden determination swelling in him to not be left behind, to not be like the Australian swimmers he watched earlier, eating Rin's dust. He was better than them. He was just as good as Rin. He always had been, that was why he was here. That was why-  
Rin was pulling ahead, even before the turn. Haru could see his arms, his hands, reaching out into his view. He kicked a little harder, pulled a little faster, and when they turned he felt like his coach would be surprised, even impressed. He had to be as fast off the wall as Rin, or he wouldn't stand a chance. They had always juggled their positions, back and forth, first and second. And sure there had been a few mishaps, there had been bad days setting them back, there had been other swimmers sneaking into the fold, but in the end it had always come back to them. Haru and Rin. First and second.  
Hopefully in that order.  
He all but swore at himself as he turned for the second time, this time seeing Rin pull visibly ahead. He was determined too. And stubborn. But Haru had a faster stroke. At least, he had last time they'd raced. That was a while ago, now. They'd been in different events when they met on the world stage. The first time Rin had only competed butterfly – someone else had won the spot he wanted in free. The second time they had competed different distances, and Rin had laughed about their lack of communication. But this time, this time they had finally managed it, finally qualified in the same event.  
Granted, they both had more than one race to swim, but that was the one that mattered.  
Rin didn't compete two-hundred, though, Haru was beginning to remember. His turns were still just as electric, but his pace in between had slowed a little after their first hundred. This wasn't how Haru would normally swim a longer race, blowing all his energy from the get-go, but there was no way he was giving Rin the opportunity to create a lead on him. One more turn, then the final lap. Haru's turn was explosive, determined, angry even. How could Rin have pulled so far ahead? If this had ended at a hundred, he wouldn't have been close. He had to work harder, swim longer, be faster and stronger and-  
His hand hit the wall, and he gasped for air, gripping the tiles for stability. Rin's breath was rough beside him, and he took a hint of satisfaction from knowing that Rin had been working just as hard, fighting just as much.  
“Not fair” Rin said breathlessly, a short laugh escaping him “I just had training”  
“Excuses” Haru smiled wryly “you've gotten good”  
“So have you”  
When he tore his goggles off he understood why Rin hadn't looked straight at him, and he quickly looked away from the little group gathered to watch the show.  
“That's just a preview” he said softly, for Rin not the crowd “the main event is still weeks away”  
“I can't wait to see it” Rin laughed “I'm glad it's only half that length”  
“That means I can conserve my energy half as much”  
Rin eyed him skeptically, but he couldn't quite decipher Haru's face, couldn't work out whether he was serious or not. This time it was Haru who made it out of the water first and offered Rin a hand, and Rin grinned as he accepted it. Haru hadn't grown much since high school, and Rin knew that meant there was a fairly significant weight difference between them by now, but still he didn't seem to have any trouble dragging Rin out of the water. He was strong, always had been, but maybe Rin was underestimating him.   
“One more time?” Haru asked  
“No way in hell” Rin scowled “you're messing with me”  
“Suit yourself”  
His jaw dropped as Haru climbed back up to the blocks, diving in with the same strength and precision as always, but this time his pace was a lot more leisurely when he surfaced.  
“Not bad, mate”   
Rin laughed as the hand clapped him on the shoulder, shaking his head.  
“I've got a long way to go if I want to be above him on the podium”

The cafe Rin chose for lunch was barely two minutes walk from the pool, and conveniently right next to the other building he sometimes worked in. A few of the waitresses knew him by name, with how often he came in between training and work, or for dinner after a late shift.   
“This is Haruka” he told one particularly friendly waitress, who always stopped by to ask how his swimming was going “my friend from Japan. His English is really bad, sorry”  
Haru understood just enough to scowl at him, turning to give the young lady a little nod.  
“Nice to meet you” he spoke carefully, like he always did when he was stuck using English “I am sorry that you have to see Rin often”  
She laughed, and after a moment of surprise Rin joined in, shaking his head as he kicked Haru lightly under the table.  
“Is that really the third sentence you've learned?”  
“I do not understand what you are asking me”  
Haru looked away as Rin gaped at him, picking up his glass to silence himself, and the waitress touched Rin's shoulder lightly as she giggled at him.  
“I don't mind seeing him a lot” she assured Haru “he always brightens my day”  
“Oh stop” Rin laughed, brushing her off playfully “you don't work for tips”  
“This is all for free”  
She winked at him and returned to the kitchen, and Haru gave Rin a pointed look as soon as she was out of earshot, waiting for an explanation.  
“What's that look for?” he grinned, his cheeks a little flushed “are you jealous or something?”  
“Are you dating?”  
“No, of course not!” Rin insisted, strangely flustered “she's just a friend, just being nice”  
“Okay”  
“Don't 'okay' me, I could have heard that sarcasm from a mile away”  
“It's fine, I'll go to the pool if you need your bedroom for a night”  
“I'm not dating her! I'm not dating anyone!”  
“Why not?”  
Rin froze for a moment, suddenly realising how little he knew about Haru's personal life, the obvious question sticking in his throat.  
“Are you?” he asked finally, forgetting his embarrassment for confusion  
“Not really”  
“Not really?”  
He shrugged, and Rin was a little offended by the evasiveness of the answer, regardless of how typically Haru it was. For a moment he just sat and stared at the young man in silence, watching his bright blue eyes roam the cafe and inspect the array of people – locals and tourists alike – who currently inhabited the area.  
“Yeah right” Rin scoffed, relaxing back in his chair “like you'd spend your time on a girl when you could be in the pool instead”  
“The girls train at the same time as us”  
“And?”  
“They talk to us sometimes. And do that”  
He nodded toward the waitress as he said it, and Rin raised an eyebrow.  
“Do what?”  
“Try to pick you up.”  
“I can't believe you even noticed that. Since when do you know what flirting is?”  
“Flirting?”  
“I started speaking English again, didn't I?”  
“You do it a lot” Haru shrugged, taking another sip from his drink “I've gotten used to it”  
“Do I really?”  
“Yeah. When you get excited or embarrassed, mostly. When you stop thinking about it”  
“Sorry, I don't always notice”  
“It's fine”

The rain was still falling in sheets when they got back to the apartment, so Rin gave up on his plan to take Haru sightseeing before work. Instead he turned on the central heating and sat back on the couch with his laptop, occasionally glancing up at Haru on the other end of the cushions. Bundled in the duvet from the bed, only his hand and a pencil poked out to reach his sketchbook. As lazy as Rin felt any time he sat around at home all day, he couldn't help but be a little satisfied by it too as he nudged Haru with his toes playfully.  
“Quit it” Haru mumbled, after he'd done it a few times “I know it's not an accident”  
“I'm not doing anything”  
“Seriously, Rin, quit it”  
With a little grin he poked the boy one more time, watching him squirm, and Haru's feet clamped down heavily on his.  
“There” Haru mumbled “Now stay still”  
“Did you have fun swimming this morning?”  
“Yeah”  
“My teammates were pretty impressed, seeing you. I mean, they've heard about you, but I guess they didn't expect you to actually keep up with me still”  
“Heard about me?”  
“Well, yeah” Rin grimaced, looking away “I mean, I guess I've mentioned your name or something, and they saw us walk in together or whatever, so...”  
“Maybe you should have told them I'm competing against you. And them.”  
“I did. The moment my coach said that we were competing against Japan I asked if he knew who was coming, if your name was on the list.”  
“So you've been talking about me”  
“Yeah, I guess I have” Rin conceded, smiling softly “they're happy you're here”  
“Why?”  
“Because... I don't know, just because!” he blushed, throwing a cushion at Haru “just accept a compliment”  
“Is that a compliment?”  
“I don't know”  
“Okay”  
His feet were warm under Haru's, and he smiled slightly as he gave up on pestering the guy, letting him draw in peace while Rin scrolled on his laptop.

Work was slow, and Rin slumped against the desk he was sitting at, fidgeting with a strand of red hair that had fallen loose from his ponytail. It was tempting to get up and walk the floor, to maybe use some of the equipment for himself rather than come back later, but he was the only one on duty this afternoon and wasn't willing to risk not noticing if someone arrived.   
A few regulars were in the gym, people he recognised from day to day, but didn't actually know. One girl was a dancer, he knew that much. She was all long limbs and and tiny waist, her headphones humming as she ran on the elliptical. Another was a much bigger girl with bright pink earphones, a student who wanted to lose weight for some school event. He always gave her a smile and a wave when she came in, tried to make her feel welcome. She might be the one he saw here the most, working the hardest. The other little group of people were some older men, maybe in their late thirties, who were always pounding out reps in the weights room. He'd been careful not to work out while they were around, after an incident where one of them had decided he had to out-do Rin. In the end he'd gotten stuck under a bar and his two friends had had to help lift it off him, and even though Rin knew it wasn't really his fault he still felt bad about it. He'd made sure to give the man a big thumbs up the next time he saw him in the squat rack, made sure to look suitably impressed by his numbers, and hoped that was enough to give him back his pride.  
“Do you want to do a round, Rin?”  
He looked back to see the next staff member on the rotation standing behind him, adjusting her uniform shirt as she set her bag down.  
“I still have an hour until my replacement arrives”  
“I know, I just thought you might want to move around a bit. Seems like you've been here a while”  
“Is it okay?”  
“Absolutely, go for it”  
He grinned at her and picked up his water bottle, deciding to stick to the cardio equipment since the men were here, and sat down on a rowing machine. The girl with the pink headphones was just two seats away from him, and she glanced his way briefly as he strapped his feet in, getting a big grin in return. She smiled slightly and went back to her own workout, and Rin settled in to pound out some sprints.  
When he got called over to do some actual work, he left the girl with an encouraging pat on the back and another big grin, draining his water bottle as he walked back to the front desk.

The apartment was spotless again when Rin finally made it home. Even the dishes he'd promised to do later had been done behind his back, and the futon he'd been sleeping on was folded neatly away into its closet. He knew Haru would want to go swimming again, and Rin would feel obligated to go with him, but for now he just needed to rest, to lie back and close his eyes for even five minutes.   
“I'm home” he mumbled, as he flopped onto the couch “let me have a minute before I take you to the pool”  
“Do you not want to go?”  
“It's fine, I just need to rest for a bit”  
“Was work hard?”  
“It was really, really boring for like three hours. There was absolutely nothing to do. And then in the last hour there was this massive rush of people coming in who didn't seem to have any idea why they were there or what they wanted. I started to feel like my English was just terrible and I didn't understand”  
Haru paused for a moment, then sat down at the end of the couch, right on Rin's feet just to be a jerk.  
“What do you do?”  
“What?”  
“For work. You've never actually told me”  
“Haven't I?”  
“Well, I never asked”  
“You never ask anything though, I'm used to it” Rin smiled faintly “I just run the front desk at a gym. The gym by the pool, actually. They're just a few rooms apart. Sell memberships, show people around, that kind of thing. It's pretty easy”  
“Oh”  
“Really? Again with the 'oh's?”  
“What else do you want me to say?”  
“I don't know. 'Wow Rin, that sounds interesting, tell me more.'?”  
“Wow Rin, that-”  
“Okay no” Rin shook his head, smiling faintly “don't bother”  
“Do you get to use it?”  
“The gym? Yeah”  
“That must be nice, instead of making an extra trip to work out”  
“I even can on duty sometimes, if it's slow and there are enough staff. Apparently it makes us look more involved or approachable or something, so they encourage it. All my coworkers know that if they don't feel like it they can send me out on the floor and I'll be happy to do it”  
“Do you like the people you work with?”  
“Yeah, they're all really nice, and when I first got here they helped me really improve my En- Haru, are you holding a conversation with me?”  
He smiled faintly, and Rin sat up to hug him, laughing. Even though Haru squirmed and put up a weak protest, he was smiling, and Rin was now well aware that he only complained for show.   
“Can I come with you tomorrow?”  
“To the gym? Yeah, sure, if you want. We could go before my shift or something”  
“While you're working, I mean.”  
“You want to watch me work?”  
Haru shrugged, and Rin smiled fondly at him, nodding.  
“Sure, okay. I guess we've made the trip enough times by now that you can always walk yourself home when you get bored. Or go to the pool, I'm sure it'll be that one”  
“It'll be fine”  
“Yeah, it will”  
“Can we go to the pool now? You've rested”  
“Yeah” Rin laughed “sure”  
Haru climbed off his legs and Rin groaned as he stood and stretched, retrieving a clean swimsuit from the basket of laundry in the doorway.  
“You know you don't need to do my laundry, right?” Rin asked, as he stuffed it in his bag “I can take care of myself”  
“I don't mind. You're busy”  
“Thank you”  
He kicked his shoes back on at the door and pulled his work shirt over his head to prevent a whole host of misunderstandings, grabbing his hoodie instead from the hooks near the door.  
“Seriously” Rin said firmly, as he glanced back at Haru “it's cold, put a jacket on”  
Haru shrugged faintly, still walking toward the door, and Rin grabbed his elbow.   
“Talk to me”  
“I didn't bring one”  
“Is that all?” Rin asked in disbelief, staring at the strangely embarrassed man before him “you should have said so”  
He marched through to the bedroom and snatched a dark blue hoodie from a hanger, throwing it at Haru pointedly. It had a little cartoon shark on the front, which he knew Haru would get a kick out of when he noticed, so he watched as Haru pulled it over his head and looked down, cracking a smile.  
“Knew it” Rin grinned, punching him lightly on the shoulder “you're cute”  
“What?”  
“You know what I mean” Rin rolled his eyes, picking up his swim bag “come on, let's go before I change my mind”  
Haru hurried after him as he started down the hall, and Rin slowed his pace a tiny bit to let Haru catch up. His legs were a shorter than Rin's, so it was easy to outpace him without even trying, let alone when Rin was making a point of it. As they stood in front of the elevators Rin glanced over at him, at the fingertips barely poking out the ends of the sleeves, at the hem well past Haru's hips. He probably should have chosen something that was smaller, instead of being oversized even on Rin, but Haru didn't seem to mind it. It would be easier to pull it off and leap into the pool, Rin supposed, which was really the only thing that mattered to Haru anyway.

As Rin made the final rounds of the apartment for the night, switching off lights and adjusting the heating, packing his bags for the next morning, he caught a glimpse of Haru sitting up in the bedroom. He'd gone to bed at least ten minutes ago, and Rin half expected he would be out by now, but he hadn't even closed the door and lain down yet.   
“Rin” Haru almost whined his name, and Rin froze “Rin, come here”  
“What do you want?”  
Haru held out both his hands like he was reaching for something, and Rin stood at the end of the bed as he considered him carefully.  
“What?” he repeated “What do you want?”  
“It's cold”  
“I turned the heating on”  
“But it's cold now”  
“Sorry, it won't take long”  
“No, I mean...”  
He trailed off and Rin flooded red when Haru glanced toward the other side of the bed, the shark toy nowhere to be seen, Rin's pillow back in its rightful place.  
“It's not like we've never done it before” Haru grumbled, as Rin stared at him “come on, it's your fault your bed is cold, fix it”  
He obediently turned out the light and sat down hesitantly on his usual side of the bed, glancing over as Haru slid down into the blankets and waited, watching him.   
“Are you messing with me?” he asked finally  
“No”  
“Alright” he sighed, pulling his shirt over his head “whatever”  
Haru shot him a surprisingly cheeky grin as he joined him, pulling the blankets up to his armpits, and despite his embarrassment Rin couldn't help but be amused by it.  
“Goodnight Haru”  
“Mm, night Rin”  
It was mere minutes after he closed his eyes that Rin heard the little shuffles beside him, cracking one eyelid just enough to see Haru move toward him, then feel his hand brush over his chest.   
“Rin?” he mumbled  
For some reason Rin decided not to answer, and after another moment Haru shuffled a little closer, laying his head on Rin's chest, right above his pounding heart.  
“Night Rin”


	4. Day 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haru wasn't expecting the Australians to be so friendly to a stranger

“Haruka!”  
Haru jolted at the sound of his name, and got a laugh in return as the massive, tanned, blonde man leaned over his lane.  
“Sorry mate, didn't mean to scare ya”  
“It's fine” Haru mumbled “Am I...”  
He trailed off, realising far too late that he didn't know how to complete the sentence, and the man folded his arms.  
“Watashitachi to” he started cautiously “Issho ni. Oyogimasu?”  
It took a moment for Haru to catch on, staring at him dumbly, and the man laughed again.  
“Sorry, was it that awful?”  
He shook his head faintly, pointing toward where Rin was lining up with his teammates.  
“Do you mean...?”  
“Yes!” he grinned “come join us”  
“Really? Why?”  
“Our guys are all curious about you, Rin never stops talking about you. They've been watching you between sets. Come satisfy their curiosity so they can focus. And maybe light a fire under them, get them moving”  
He did his best to process the words, but a large number of them went in one ear and out the other. But still the man grinned at him, spoke slowly and clearly, and Haru felt like he was making a concerted effort.  
“Thank you” he said after a moment, climbing out of the water “I... would like that very much”  
“Great, come on then”  
Every eye was on him as he joined them, and when Rin shot him a huge grin he moved a little closer, to where he could seek clarification if needed.  
“We're gonna do this relay style” the coach announced, holding up two fingers “swim two lengths and we'll see which lane finishes first. Haruka, does that make sense?”  
“Yes” he nodded faintly “thank you”  
He felt ridiculously small next to the rest of them. He was used to being shorter than the people around him, although usually only by an inch or two like with Rin, but these men were monsters. The coach was speaking again, but this time Haru didn't catch much of it.  
“Rin, can you translate?”  
“He knows” Rin scoffed “it's fine”  
“Please”  
Rin sighed faintly, turning to look at Haru with a wry smile.  
“He says we all have to swim our event strokes. Do I need to go further?”  
“Thanks” he smiled slightly “I planned on it”  
“He's good” Rin announced “he got it”  
“Then the first lane to five wins. Take your marks”  
So that was where the challenge came in, Haru realised. Not just swim once and win, swim five times and stay ahead. The people around him were friendly, all grinning at him if he caught them looking, and when the person before him left the blocks he felt a strong hand clap him on the back.  
“Go hard, mate” he said, and Haru wasn't entirely sure what it meant “Be fast”  
“I can do that” Haru said with a smirk, as he took his place on the blocks “what is 'go hard'?”  
“Don't hold back. Give it everything you have. Be the best”  
“Okay” Haru smiled slightly, taking his position “I'll be hard”  
His transfer could have been faster. He knew it as soon as he left the block. But he flew, and he dove, and he kicked with everything he had. Two lengths at a time, he told himself. The other eight don't matter yet, only these two.   
His turn wasn't as good as it had been against Rin, but he would fix that next time. For now what mattered was getting to that wall as fast as he could, letting the Australian man fly over his head for his own turn. He hoisted himself out of the pool as soon as the shadow had passed over him, moved to the back of his line, and smiled when the man in front turned around to give him a thumbs up. Rin was up next, in the next lane over, and Haru watched curiously as he got set up. The determination he saw in the pool was intense, inspiring even. Would he have that now, or was that reserved for being against Haru?  
“That was good, Haruka!” the man behind him said brightly, as he returned “you were super fast”  
“Thank you” Haru laughed despite his nerves “you are very kind”  
He saw Rin falter for half a second, just enough that his dive was a little too slow, not like him at all. He pulled himself together quickly though, and by the time his head came to the top of the water he was focused.   
People had always been drawn to Rin. Haru had known that since they were children. His teammates seemed to be no exception to the rule, his lane of people cheering for him even for a silly practice drill. He had a massive grin when he climbed out of the water, and it didn't waver when he joined his queue again, laughing with his friends. He glanced over at Haru, who managed his own smile in return, and Rin's eyes lit up with a kind of happiness Haru hadn't seen in a long time.

“Come again tomorrow, Haruka” one of Rin's teammates told him, clapping him on the shoulder “join us again, as much as you want”  
Rin turned to translate, but Haru was already nodding, even smiling a little – albeit awkwardly.  
“Thank you” he said, much more confident than any other English Rin had heard from him “I would like that”  
Rin was baffled as they walked back to the apartment, fighting for words, but nothing seemed to cover it.  
“Should I have said no?” Haru asked, as they stepped into the elevator “I won't, if you don't want me there”  
“Shut up, I love having you there, you know that”  
“Then what?”  
“This” Rin said, poking his cheek lightly “where did happy-Haru come from?”  
“I was in the pool”  
“You know what I mean”  
He contemplated it for a bit, and Rin left him to it, finding his work shirt and changing out of his damp swimsuit in the bathroom.  
“Your teammates are nice people”  
“Yeah, I know” Rin grinned, rubbing at his hair with the towel Haru handed him “they pretty much adore you”  
“Adore me? Why?”  
“Who knows”  
“Tell me”  
“It's nothing really”  
“You don't let me do that” Haru frowned “tell me”  
“Well, they saw us swim, saw us race. They thought it was cool, seeing us get all fired up”  
“Is that all?”  
“I don't know, Australians are friendly”  
“Everyone is friendly to you”  
“Weren't they nice to you too?”  
“Well, yeah”  
He grinned, and Haru cracked a little smile of his own before he turned away to open the fridge.  
“Go sit down” Rin told him, nudging him away lightly “It's my turn to cook, you've cooked every meal since you've been here”  
“Not every meal”  
“Just about”  
He conceded and sat down in the living room, his fingers tapping against his closed sketchbook as he contemplated it, debated whether he wanted to open it up.  
“Do you still want to come to work with me?”  
“Yeah”  
“Cool, we've got like an hour”  
“Okay”  
He finally opened the book up while Rin started to prepare food, making long, slow marks with his pencil, occasionally stopping to check his phone. When the food was on the stove Rin came over to sneak a look, surprised when Haru quickly slammed it shut.  
“Whaaat?” Rin whined “I don't get to see?”  
“No”  
“Why not?”  
“You don't need to see”  
“Come on, don't be mean”  
He leaned over the back of the couch and flailed toward it limply, grinning when Haru batted him away.  
“You let me see before”  
“That was different”  
“Different how?”  
“They were... They were already finished”  
“Oh, so I have to wait until you're done?”  
“Y-Yeah”  
“Fiiiine” he sighed “I guess I can wait”  
He flipped burger patties over in the pan then opened the fridge to find the buns he'd picked up, amused when Haru seemed confused by the final product.  
“It's about time you start trying Australian food” Rin grinned “tomorrow it's pies and sausage rolls”  
He seemed a little apprehensive, but he didn't protest, and Rin was relieved to see him take a big bite of the burger without a word. It obviously wasn't horribly offensive, since he ate the whole thing – faster than Rin did, in fact.   
“Not bad” he shrugged, when Rin looked at him pointedly “wouldn't eat them every day though”  
“I'm glad you don't refuse anything that isn't mackerel anymore”  
“That's an exaggeration”  
“Barely”  
Rin started on the dishes before Haru could jump in to do it, smiling wryly when he began to hover awkwardly to find something to do to help. For once Rin didn't concede, and Haru was left to watch and wait.  
The weather had gotten better during the night, so when they left for the gym they didn't need umbrellas or coats, although Haru still wore Rin's shark hoodie over his gym gear. He was stunned when Rin showed him through, eyeing the expansive rooms full of equipment, and Rin grinned knowingly as he scanned both their cards on the entry gate.  
Rin leaned against the desk to say hello to the person working before him, and Haru waved when Rin pointed toward him.  
“Hello, I'm Haruka” he announced, to Rin's shock “It's nice to meet you”  
“Nice to meet you too, Haruka, Rin has told us all about you”  
Haru turned a pointed look to Rin, who grinned sheepishly, shaking his head.  
“I liked it better when you didn't understand that sentence”  
“It's hard to not understand when I hear it everywhere”  
“Oh come on”  
It was strange, in a way, for Rin to see Haru smile and talk – let alone in English. Strange because he'd spent so many years trying to coax him out of his shell, to make him open up. Strange because last time they'd seen each other, he definitely hadn't been that way. But, Rin thought to himself, it was good. Hearing his voice was good. Seeing him smile was good. Just having him here was good.   
“Feel free to wander around and use the equipment” Rin said, as he slipped behind the desk “I'm on for four hours, I'll come check on you when I get the chance”  
“You don't need to check on me”  
He wandered off toward the weights room and Rin wondered if the regulars would show up today. He was pretty sure Haru would easily out-lift all of them, even if he were taking it easy, and as concerned as he was for their safety he also thought it would be rather entertaining to see their faces. Rin was small enough already, compared to Australian men. Haru was on a whole different level.   
“He's cute” the voice was hushed, but enthusiastic “like, really cute!”  
“Don't say that!” Rin blushed “he'll hear you!”  
“Does that really matter?”  
“He'll get embarrassed and then he won't come back”  
“Okay, okay, my lips are sealed” she grinned “but really, you have good taste”  
“It's not like that” Rin laughed awkwardly “we're not...”  
“Oh, really? Sorry, I just assumed. How long is he here?”  
“A few more weeks, we have a competition at the end of the month”  
“He competes against you?”  
“Yeah”  
“Wow, that must be weird. Not being on the same team, I mean”  
“Yeah, sometimes” Rin agreed, glancing toward the machines Haru had disappeared behind “I do miss swimming with him, but at least we get to meet every year or so and see how we compare”  
“It's better than never seeing him, right?”  
“Right” Rin grinned “I'll take what I can get”

Haru wandered to to the lobby to use the bathroom, not wanting to disrupt Rin to ask if there was one closer. A group of kids were gathered for their swim classes, little boys bragging about something he couldn't understand, little girls in neon swimsuits chatting as they fixed their hair and put their clothes away in their bags.   
“Do you have another hairtie?” A little girl asked someone next to her “I forgot again, the coaches will be so mad at me”  
The girl shook her head apologetically, and Haru reached into his bag.  
“Here” he said softly, holding out a little elastic ring “is this what you need?”  
“Thank you, Mister!”  
He nodded and continued his path to the changing rooms, weaving through clusters of children. It was weird, he supposed, that his English phrases included that. He'd heard it in Japanese far more than in English, after all, but he'd heard it once since he'd been here too. It had made him smile to himself, listening to the pleading tone, identical no matter what the language. Rin was finishing work when Haru got back, waiting in the doorway for him to say his goodbyes to coworkers and a few customers.  
“Do you want to swim?” he asked, as soon as he reached Haru's side  
“Not right now”  
“Really?”  
“The weather is good, you should show me around before it gets dark”  
Rin looked like a kid who had just opened his birthday presents, beaming as if it was the best idea he'd ever heard, and he nodded vigorously.  
“Absolutely. Do you need to go back home first or should we just go from here?”  
“Do you need to change?”  
“I'm fine, do you?”  
“No”  
“Perfect”  
He pulled open one of the lockers in the lobby and dumped his bag inside, reaching for Haru's to join it. There was a padlock on his key ring, and he took it off now to lock the door closed, spinning the little number dials to secure it. Haru stumbled a little when Rin grabbed his arm, dragging him toward the door, but it didn't seem right to complain, so he just hurried his pace to fall in line at Rin's side.

“I need one of your hairties, by the way” Haru said, as they walked back toward the apartment building.  
“What? Why?”  
“I gave it to a little kid who needed one”  
“What are you talking about?”  
“The one from my swim bag”  
“You don't even have your swim bag here. Didn't you leave it with your coach?”  
“Yeah, but I had the stuff out of it. Well, most of the stuff. It was in a bag of stuff that I brought with me”  
“Why do you have one in the first place?”  
“You asked me to”  
Rin frowned at him, confused beyond any semblance of understanding, and Haru found himself just as confused.  
“You gave it to me” he clarified “when you first started using them. You asked me to keep one, so you didn't have to keep asking your sister”  
“And you've had it all this time?”  
“Yeah”  
“Why?”  
“It doesn't take up any room, there's no point getting rid of it”  
Rin considered him again for a moment, then softened into a smile.  
“You're the cutest” he said softly  
“That was English” Haru pointed out  
“I know”  
Haru's cheeks were flushed a little pink, and he looked away to hide it. He'd been doing his best to pick up more words, and right now it felt a little awkward that that had been one of them.   
“Can you draw something for me?”  
“What do you want me to draw?”  
“You can choose. I have a big space on my wall and I need something to put there, I thought maybe if I went and got a big piece of paper you could draw something for me to put up”  
“Really?”  
“Yeah. Is that okay?”  
“If you want. I'll buy what I need, consider it a gift for letting me stay with you for so long”  
“You can come any time, you know that”


	5. Day 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin wakes up to a sight he wasn't expecting, and Haru tries new things.

Rin woke to hands clutching at him tightly, to rough breaths and a faint wet patch on the sheets at his side, a few droplets still trailing down his skin.  
“Haru, Haru!” He shook the boy's shoulder roughly “what's wrong?”  
His eyes snapped open, full of tears, and he quickly shoved his face into Rin's chest, clinging tightly.  
“Woah, Haru” Rin said softly, stroking his back “what's going on?”  
“I don't want to go!” Haru insisted, his voice a little muffled “I'm not ready to leave!”  
“What are you talking about?”  
“It's too soon! I want to stay longer!”  
“Haru, you've only been here for four days. You're not going anywhere. Are you?”  
His head snapped back, his eyes wide as he look up at Rin, his grip loosening a little. Rin still held him firmly, struggling not to produce a few tears himself when he saw them staining Haru's face.  
“You haven't even been here a week” he said softly “did you have a nightmare?”  
“Not exactly”  
“A bad dream, though?”  
“I just... I dreamed it was my last day, I guess. I wasn't ready to go home”  
“You've still got two weeks before the competition even starts. You'll have had enough by then”  
“No!” Haru insisted, the tears forming again “I won't!”  
“What are you talking about?”  
“I don't want to go. I want to stay here. I want to stay with you”  
“What are you saying?”  
“I'm not making euphemisms, I'm not being evasive. Just listen to my words, Rin!”  
He felt a pang in his chest hearing Haru say his name so desperately, and he hugged Haru a little tighter, gently lowering the teary eyes back to his chest.   
“You don't have to go” Rin said softly “not if you don't want to”  
“You don't understand, you're not listening”  
“No, you aren't listening. You can stay as long as you want. You don't have to leave. If you want to stay here forever, and never leave my side, then I am totally, one hundred percent okay with that”  
“Forever?”  
“If you want”  
“But what do you want?”  
He smiled softly to himself, stroking dark hair as he held Haru tightly, praying that for just ten minutes Haru would forget himself, would stay there, would not pull away.  
“I'm pretty happy with what I have right now”  
“Rin...”  
“Haru”  
“Rin, I...”  
“It's okay, you don't have to say anything”  
“You're not annoyed that I got in bed with you that one night?”  
“Oh yeah, super annoyed, that's why I've shared your bed every night since”  
He hugged Haru a little tighter when he started to squirm, leaning his cheek on the top of his head.  
“No” he said firmly “don't move”  
“But I want...”  
“Not important”  
“But...”  
“Nope. Stay”  
“I want to hug you” Haru forced out, his cheeks burning red  
Rin grinned as he looked down, at the hands squished between their chests, and obediently loosened their hold just enough that he could slip them out and wind them around Rin's back.  
“Thank you” he mumbled, hiding his face again “I'm sorry”  
“What? Don't be, you have nothing to be sorry for”  
“I woke you up over a dumb dream”  
“I'm kind of glad you did” he grinned “I can stop worrying about touching you too much now”  
“Rin, I think.. I think I... You...”  
“Go on, you can do it” Rin teased “get it out”  
“I think I like you”  
“Of course you do, doesn't everyone?”  
“Yeah”  
“Come on, you're supposed to punch me or something for that”  
“You make everyone smile”  
“Even you?”  
“Yeah. More than... More than anyone else does”  
“Good, that's all I care about”  
Rin knew his alarm would go off soon, the one telling him to go for a run, but he didn't want to think about it. Right now he just wanted to savour this moment for as long as it lasted, for as long as he could drag it out, before Haru went back to being calm and quiet and so painfully neutral.   
“Haru?”  
“Mm?”  
“Do you only talk more because of me?”  
“What?”  
“You've been talking more lately, and smiling more. I thought... maybe you'd just grown up a bit, grown out of it or something. Maybe you'd learned to be a better actor. But you said I make you smile, so... Is that real? Are you smiling because of me?”  
“Yeah” he heard a faint chuckle come from his chest “that's you”  
“And holding conversations? Saying hello to people in public?”  
“I want to fit in with your world. I don't want you to wish I wasn't here”  
“I would never”  
“If your friends talk to me, they might talk about me when I have to leave. And then you won't be able to forget about me”  
“Don't be silly” Rin mumbled  
“You have a whole lot of friends here, why would you remember me when they are so much closer and easier to talk to?”  
“Because you matter”  
“Maybe I matter to you now, while I'm here” he mumbled “but will I still matter when I'm not here?”  
“Don't be silly” Rin repeated, hugging him a little tighter “you're not going anywhere”  
“Not yet”  
“Not ever. You said you were going to stay forever”  
“Rin...”  
“Maybe you'll need to go back for a bit to get your things, but then you'll come right back home to me”  
“My parents can send my things” Haru said softly “or I can buy new things. It doesn't matter.”  
“What about your dream?”  
“My dream was about you. Swimming with you. I don't care if it's on a world stage, I don't care which club or country it's for, I just want to swim with you”  
“I'll never stop swimming with you”  
“Then it doesn't matter”  
“What does matter?”  
“You. You and me.”  
“More than the water?”  
“Don't make me choose”  
“Is it a hard choice?”  
“Yeah”  
“I must be special then” Rin grinned “if you have to think about it”  
His alarm started blaring from under his pillow, and Rin groaned loudly as he reached for it, giving Haru an apologetic smile.  
“I should go” he sighed “I can't just keep skipping runs all the time”  
“I'll be here” Haru mumbled, pulling the blankets up over his nose “when you get home”  
“You're too damn cute” Rin mumbled to himself, this time choosing the English intentionally “I'll see you in a bit, then”  
Haru was grateful that he'd pulled the blankets up as Rin left, feeling the flush that spread over his face. When Rin came out of the bathroom Haru could see him in the hall pulling his shoes on, and he took a deep breath to steel his nerves.  
“Rin?”  
“Yeah?”  
“You're really cute too”  
Rin flooded red, gawking like an idiot, and under the blankets Haru smiled to himself.   
“When did you learn that word?” he asked finally, his face burning “did you look it up?”  
“One of your teammates said it. He said it was really cute the way you talk about me”  
“I don't talk about you!”  
“Yes you do. All the time. Everyone says so”  
“Shut up”  
“But they all think it's cute. They say that word a lot. I had to ask what it meant”  
“Go back to only knowing how to say 'I don't speak English' would you?”  
“But if I'm going to stay here forever I'll have to learn, at least a little”  
“Are you really going to stay here forever?”  
“Until I get bored of you”  
“Thanks” Rin laughed, finally composing himself enough to lace his shoe “I should go”  
“Go hard”  
Once again Rin gave him a confused look, but he didn't bother to ask this time, just sighing to himself as he opened the front door.

Training was exhausting. More exhausting than anything he'd done in weeks. Whether it was because he'd been slacking off, because the sets were particularly difficult, or because he was burning himself out trying to prove himself to the rest of them, he couldn't quite be sure. But when he found himself in the lane next to Rin, preparing to dive in for sprints, there was a little smirk on his face.  
“This is the last one” the coach was telling them “so give it everything you've got”  
“You heard him” Haru muttered “Everything”  
He could feel eyes on him as he adjusted his goggles, and he smirked when he saw Rin snap his own into place, grinning with the same sense of determination as he'd seen only days ago.  
The coach blew the whistle and Haru flew. He refused to give in to the urge to sneak a peek, instead focused on every kick, every stroke, every intense, perfected motion he'd given himself over to for so long. The wall was coming, he could see it getting closer. He would turn like Rin this time. No. He would turn better than Rin. He would be fast and strong, he would not let himself be beaten for a second time. His feet touched the wall and he launched off, propelling himself forward, finally allowing himself a glance to the next lane over.  
He was right there.  
Last time he had been well ahead at this point, had only drawn closer when he started to get tired. But not this time. This time Haru would keep up, he wouldn't let Rin make him look bad anymore.  
He barely even felt the water around him now. It was a part of him, an extension of his limbs, of his entire being. And it pushed him forward, it urged him to pull harder and move faster.  
His hand slammed against the wall and he turned, staring breathlessly at the man beside him with water falling off his broad shoulders, with red hair dripping back into the pool.  
He still watched as Rin climbed out of the pool, shooting a tired grin at the friends who praised him, but the hand in front of him dragged him back to his senses.  
“Come on” Rin laughed “I know you don't want to leave the water, but other people need to use the lane too”  
“Sorry” he mumbled, accepting the help over the side “I was...”  
“It's fine”  
“Nice job, mate!” one of the men laughed, throwing an arm around each of them “you two are pretty damn impressive, ya know that?”  
“Thank you” Rin laughed “more like damn stubborn”  
“What did he say?” Haru mumbled  
“Nothing much” Rin smirked “doesn't matter”  
“Impressive?” Haru asked, turning toward the man between them “what is that?”  
“Really, really good.” The guy grinned at him “both of you”  
“Oh. Ah. Thank you”  
“See you two on Sunday, yeah?”  
“Yeah” Rin grinned “See you then”  
“Goodbye” Haru added, watching as everyone began to leave “Rin, do you not swim on Saturdays?”  
“We don't have official training”  
“Oh”  
“Don't look so disappointed, I'll still take you swimming”  
“Okay”  
“Oh!” Rin turned to a group of his teammates still saying their goodbyes “I need to make Haru eat a pie, where should we go?”  
“Nearby or the best?”  
“The best, of course”  
Haru tuned out as they started talking about places he'd never heard of, giving some kind of directions, and instead he stared out at the empty pool, shining clean and beautifully blue. Despite how fatigued his limbs were, only made worse by pushing himself against Rin, he still wanted nothing more than to be in it.  
Rin turned around when his friends started laughing, hearing a faint splash, and sighed when he saw dark hair fanned out in the water, the peaceful look on his face as he floated, his eyes closed.  
“Haru!” He insisted, without any real conviction behind it. “Honestly...”  
He turned back to his teammates with a little smile and a nod, ditching his cap and goggles next to Haru's at the pool side.  
“Looks like I'm staying a little longer. Thanks for your help, see you Sunday”  
They waved their goodbyes and Rin slid into the water, drifting slowly to Haru's side and smiling fondly down at him.  
“Happy there?” he asked, leaning in close to Haru's ear “aren't you tired?”  
“The water helps” he mumbled back, keeping his eyes firmly shut “it's comfortable”  
“You've been in the water for three hours and you still don't want to leave?”  
“I never want to leave. Besides, it's not the same”  
“Not the same how?”  
“Coaches make me get in and out. I just want to stay in”  
“There's a play area with fountains and slides if you prefer”  
“Can we really?”  
“I was kidding, it's for-”  
He cut himself off as Haru smiled faintly, sighing fondly.  
“Okay, I get it”  
He turned around and lay back in the water so their heads were almost touching, so he could feel the minute disruptions of the water around him that Haru caused. He could hear slow, even breaths not unlike the ones he heard each night, when Haru fell asleep against his chest.  
“Haru?” he asked softly  
“Rin?”  
“You're not falling asleep, are you? I'm too tired to drag you out if you start drowning”  
“I wouldn't drown”  
“Despite how you might look and act, you're not actually a sea creature”  
“Sea creatures don't live in pools”  
“Yeah, that's true”  
He smiled to himself as he looked away from the roof and the lights, turning his head a little to see the halo of dark hair floating beside him.  
“Rin?”  
“Yeah?”  
“Do we have to go somewhere?”  
“No” he shook his head, drops of water splashing down lightly on his chest “We can stay here for as long as you want”

When Haru finally decided he could bear climbing out of the pool, Rin decided to drag him over to the spa, groaning as the hot water hit him. Haru seemed slightly apprehensive, but he climbed in regardless, pulling a face as he sat down inches away from Rin's side.  
“What's the point of this?”  
“It's relaxing”  
“It's hot”  
“That's the point”  
Rin reached out and hit a button behind the pool, and he felt Haru jump beside him as the jets started up, firing streams and bubbles out of the wall.  
“Here” Rin sighed, shuffling Haru to sit in front of one “Just try it. It's water, you can't seriously complain”  
He grumbled wordlessly about it but sat where he was told to sit and watched as Rin lay back opposite him, leaning his elbows on the tiles around them. His feet were right in front of Haru's, and for a moment Haru considered poking the man with his toes, like he always had to put up with on the sofa. He couldn't quite bring himself to do it though, when he saw how relaxed Rin seemed to be. His head was tilted forward a little, damp hair falling over his face, but Rin didn't even seem to notice. He was used to it by now, Haru supposed. His hair had been pretty long for most of his life. Without really thinking about it, Haru leaned forward and brushed a strand back from his eyes, getting a faint smirk in return that made him jump back with a hint of pink in his cheeks.   
“You're cute” Rin mumbled, without bothering to open his eyes “Relax, you're making the water tense”  
“Water doesn't get tense”  
“It does when you're around. Water doesn't like it when its Haru is nervous”  
“You're ridiculous”  
“Uh-huh. Relax.”  
He obediently leaned back in his seat, conceding that maybe it did feel kind of nice having the streams of water firing on his stiff muscles, the heat loosening him up a little. Some of his teammates back in Japan would go to the hot springs together after a particularly rough week or a competition, and he suspected maybe this was why, although he'd never joined them. He sank a little lower in the water, his eyes still glued to Rin's tight muscles and soft expression, and decided the spa wasn't so bad after all.

It took almost an hour for Rin to drag Haru where he wanted to go. A bus first, then a train, then a short walk too. Haru barely spoke the whole way, and Rin knew by now he would be getting a little annoyed by the effort, so when they climbed the stairs to the store his teammates had told him about it was a relief to be done. He ordered for both of them, found them a table, and when they sat down Haru's eyes immediately wandered away to inspect the walls.  
“Are you alright?”  
“Yeah”  
“Are you sure?”  
“Yeah”  
Rin considered him for a moment, a little crease forming between his eyebrows, and leaned his head against his elbow to watch.  
“Tired?” He asked, after a pause “you seemed it at practice this morning”  
“Yeah” Haru nodded faintly “It's fine”  
“You can sleep in tomorrow, if you want. We can go to the pool later in the morning”  
“It's fine”  
Their food arrived, and Haru again seemed apprehensive when he looked at it, poking at the pastry with his fork hesitantly.  
“Just try it” Rin grinned, as he took a big bite of his own “trust me”  
He cut a small wedge of it with his knife and fork, giving Rin an incredulous look as he stuck it in his mouth, and chewed slowly.  
“It's alright” he conceded, when Rin watched him eagerly “I prefer fish”  
He took another piece as Rin laughed at him, and smiled faintly as he stuck it in his mouth.  
It was a quiet building, a peaceful area, only disturbed by soft spoken conversations and the hum of kitchen equipment. Haru had to admit it was kind of nice, just sitting there with Rin and occasionally exchanging a few words, not interrupted by people being overly loud and boisterous or kids running and laughing like they often were at the pool.   
“Do you do things like this often?”  
“Like what?”  
He waved vaguely toward the building they were in, and Rin considered it for a moment.  
“You mean, like, travelling an hour to buy lunch? No. But I go out for meals sometimes, with friends or on my break at work”  
“Tell me”  
“Tell you?”  
“Stories, or whatever. It's fine, forget it”  
“You're actually encouraging me to talk too much?” Rin grinned “well now you've asked for it. Okay, so a few weeks ago I went out for drinks with the people I work with, and this group of guys was hanging around and they were pestering some of the girls. Being a little drunk, a couple of the guys from the gym decide they'll just take their shirts off and go over, and these guys are suddenly so terrified, and they start making all these dumb excuses, and...”  
Haru was only half-listening as Rin spoke, quickly and excitedly and occasionally breaking into English. But talking made his eyes light up like it was the most fantastic story in the world, and Haru was perfectly content to just sit and watch his facial expressions, his flurry of hand gestures.  
“...so now every time she comes in while he's working, he goes and flexes, all exaggerated like this, and asks 'hey baby, you need a hand' and laughs at his own joke”  
“Did you help her too?”  
“No” Rin laughed awkwardly “I was ready to punch them if they tried to touch, but I guess I'm still a little more conservative than the Aussies”  
“You?” Haru scoffed “Conservative?”  
“I know” he laughed “it sounds weird, right? People here think so though”  
“Do you drink a lot?”  
“No, gosh no. Sometimes we go out for people's birthdays, but it's not very often”  
“I've never been”  
“That doesn't surprise me”  
“Yeah”  
His eyes roamed out over the room again, but Rin's stayed locked on him.  
“Do you want to?”  
“I don't know”  
“We can, if you want”  
He glanced at his phone to check the time, then pushed his chair back.  
“Come on, places won't be busy yet, let's go”  
“What? Now?”  
“Yeah, I saw a place nearby advertised, while we were walking here. Let's grab a couple of drinks before we go back home”  
Home.   
The word felt strange to hear, and it wasn't even the first time. Every time Rin said it, it made his chest tighten. This was his home now. It wasn't 'going home' when he visited Japan, it was just 'visiting his family'. Going home, to Rin, meant back to the little apartment in the park.  
“What?”  
“Nothing” Haru shrugged, standing up “Okay”  
“Okay?”  
“Yeah”  
Rin beamed, grabbing his elbow and dragging him back down the stairs. Haru wasn't entirely sure they were dressed right, from the people he'd seen walking around at night with goofy looks on their faces, but he figured Rin had plenty more experience than he had. From the outside, the building was simple. Brick walls, a nondescript sign spelling out words Haru didn't entirely understand. The. He knew 'The'. He didn't get any further than that.   
Inside the building was surprisingly nice, with a long bar at the front, a group of people playing pool off to one side, a few smaller groups of people with tall glasses and snacks on their tables.   
Haru just kept finding himself in weird places this week, apparently. Rin seemed to have that effect on him, made him think maybe it wouldn't be so bad. He pushed a glass toward Haru when they were poured, handed over a plastic card to the man behind the bar, and they found two seats in a corner where they could watch the room.   
“What do you think?” Rin asked, when Haru took a sip.  
“Strange” he mumbled, but he took another. “Have you been here before?”  
“No, but I've heard the name”  
“Okay”  
He took a third sip and decided maybe it wasn't terrible, that he could probably get through it eventually. The bar itself wasn't so bad either. There had been flags hanging off it as they walked in, one was the Australian one that he'd seen Rin proudly display at events, but the other two were just striped and colourful. They would probably stand out more, to people walking past. The Australian one seemed to pop up everywhere. Inside was pretty colourful too. It was nearly sunset, and the overhead lights glowed shades of red and pink when they started to turn on. There was one lamp that was bright and white though, which Haru quickly realised was being held in the hands of a statue, a statue of a naked person. He tore his eyes away from it, a little embarrassed, and instead returned to inspecting his drink.  
“Bathroom” Rin mumbled “back in a minute”  
It was really quite a nicely put together room, Haru thought. Casual and warm, but a little artsy as well. He should have gotten used to statues like this one by now, but every time he saw them in museums or sat in a life-drawing class he still found himself blushing. Rin had said it himself, though. The Australians were not conservative, not at all. That much was obvious when more patrons started arriving, guys in the tightest pants he'd ever seen, girls in skirts that barely covered their underwear. One of the men caught him looking and shot him a little smile before Haru quickly averted his eyes, pulling out his phone to distract himself.  
“You here alone?”  
His head shot up, caught off guard by footsteps he didn't hear coming, and he shook his head.  
“No, my... my friend... I'm sorry, my English is bad”  
“Aren't you a cutie?”  
Haru flooded red, unsure what to say, if anything.   
“Th-Thank you?” he stumbled out nervously  
“Everything okay, Haru?”   
The young man took a step back from the table, smiling as he gave Rin a quick nod.  
“I- I'm okay” Haru agreed “It's fine”  
“All yours, mate” the man grinned, slightly apologetic “didn't mean to scare him”  
“Don't worry about it, everyone scares him” Rin laughed, sliding back into his seat and waiting a beat before he turned to Haru again. “What did he say? You looked like you were going to die”  
“I- I don't really know. He... He asked if I was alone? I think maybe he was making sure I was okay?”  
“Drink, it'll help” Rin laughed, setting down another full glass “You sure you're okay?”  
“Yeah” Haru nodded, accepting what must be his third or fourth drink by now “It's fine”  
It wasn't until Rin saw the couple making out in a corner that he started to catch on, eyeing their tiny skirts and massive heels. He drained the last of his drink and reached for Haru's arm, the colour drained from his face.  
“We should get back, it's already dark out”  
“Are you okay?”  
“Yeah, I'm fine. I just realised how long we've been here, that's all”  
“Okay”   
Haru nodded, standing up and taking a moment to find his balance, which Rin found strangely amusing.  
“Slowly” Rin assured him, smiling awkwardly. “Come on”  
There was a line slowly forming outside the doors when they left, and Rin did his best to keep pointing Haru the other direction, watching for the telltale blush that would tell Rin he'd caught on.  
“Is everything okay?”  
“Yeah, why do you ask?”  
“You seem...”  
They locked eyes for a moment, and in the end it was Rin who blushed, dragging him toward the station insistently.  
“It's nothing!” he insisted “forget it”  
Haru fell silent again, letting himself be dragged away, admiring the way the evening breeze blew at Rin's hair and the streetlights framed him like a golden aura.  
“Rin?” he asked quietly, as they stood on the train platform. “Did I do something wrong?”  
“No, of course not, don't be an idiot”  
It was warm out again, though not as bad as the first night, and Rin had tied his hoodie around his waist rather than wear it.   
“Rin?”  
“Yeah?”  
“We don't have to go swimming tonight. We can stay ho- We can stay in the apartment, instead, if you want to rest”  
“I don't mind, if you want to go. If you're tired we don't have to”  
“I'm kind of tired”  
“Okay”  
Their train was almost empty when it pulled up, so they found a seat to collapse onto together, staring out the window at lights in the darkness.  
“Rin?”  
“Yes?” he sighed “What?”  
“What was going on in that bar?”  
Rin flooded red and couldn't quite meet Haru's eyes as he struggled to think of something to say.  
“There are some special kinds of bars here” he mumbled “that are, um... Where people can go to meet... Other people... Who are... You know what? Just forget it, it isn't important.”  
“Are you sure?”  
“Yeah”  
“Okay”  
Haru sneaked a glance at Rin's bright red face, and he smiled slightly to himself at how flustered the man had gotten so quickly.   
“Have you been to one before?”  
“No!” Rin insisted “Of course not!”  
“Not even once?”  
“Well... Maybe once. For someone's birthday! It wasn't my idea!”  
“Did you meet anyone?”  
“Noone good enough for me”  
“Oh”  
After a moment Rin's eyes slid toward him, and he smiled awkwardly as he punched Haru in the arm.  
“That was a joke”  
“Sorry”  
“Whatever”  
They were silent for a while, and Haru followed quietly when Rin led him to change to the bus, a much bumpier ride.  
"Rin?"  
"Yes, Haru?"   
"I'm going to beat you next time"  
"What are you talking about?"  
"You've beaten me twice now, since I got here. I won't let it keep happening"  
Rin stared at him with wide eyes, and Haru couldn't understand why he was so surprised, lost for words as their eyes met.  
"Haru, you beat me" he said finally "this morning. Not by much, of course. Not by as much as I beat you by. But you won"  
"What?"  
"You won. I saw you touch the wall before me"  
"Really?"  
"Yeah" Rin laughed, throwing an arm around his shoulders "is that why you've been weird today? Because you thought you'd lost twice in a row? You're ridiculous"  
"Sorry"  
"Don't be" he sighed, squeezing him lightly "It's okay"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll just leave this here.  
> https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/461668191668695041/BjKh_YuC.jpeg


	6. Day 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hooray for the weekend

Rin was already gone when Haru woke up, the bed empty next to him, and he groaned as he sat up. It was still early, far earlier than Haru would have liked, but here he was – awake. He reluctantly swung his legs over the side of the bed and made for the bathroom, his head a little sore as he splashed cold water on his face.  
“Am I sick?” he mumbled to himself, eyeing his exhausted expression in the mirror “Maybe I should sleep more”  
He found a bottle of water in the fridge and took it back to bed with him, finding Rin's hoodie beside the bed and pulling it on for extra comfort as he curled up in the blankets. He hadn't yet fallen asleep again when Rin got back, quiet as he closed the door and took his shoes off, and Haru cracked an eye open when the familiar red eyes peered through the bedroom door.  
“Rin” he mumbled “It hurts”  
“Hm?” he took a few steps into the room, leaning over the bed. “What hurts?”  
“My head”  
“You have a hangover” Rin laughed “from four beers? Wow, lightweight”  
“Rin” he whined “stop it, it hurts”  
“Drink water and go back to sleep”  
A water bottle poked out from the blankets, and Rin smiled fondly as Haru took a few gulps, then tucked it back in beside him.  
“Rin?”  
“Yes, Haru?”  
“Come here”  
“I'm right here, what do you need?”  
“No, come here”  
He rolled over a little and patted the bed beside him, and Rin didn't know what to say.   
“You want me to come back to bed?”  
“Uh-huh”  
“It's nearly eight, I already slept late”  
“Come back”  
He sighed, but obediently walked around to the other side of the bed and slid in under the blankets.  
“There, I'm back”  
“Sleep more with me”  
He closed his eyes obediently, feeling warmth radiate from Haru's body just inches away, and resisted the urge to grumble to himself. After a few minutes he felt Haru move a little, but he kept his eyes closed.  
“Rin?”  
“Yeah?”  
“Um... Thank you”  
“It's okay”  
They were silent again for a few minutes, but when Rin cracked an eye open he found Haru waiting patiently, practically staring at him.  
“What?”  
“Nothing”  
Rin considered him for a moment, looking at the innocent blue eyes peering at him over the edge of the blankets, and he raised an eyebrow.  
“Are you seriously just waiting for me to fall asleep?” Rin asked “If you want to come closer, just come closer”  
“Really?”  
“You're an idiot” he sighed, taking the blankets out of Haru's hands “Seriously”  
He wound his arm around Haru's back and pulled him in tight, Haru's head tucked against his shoulder.  
“Move your head” he grumbled, shoving dark hair out of his face “you're making my nose tickle”  
“But I'm comfortable here”  
“So I don't get to be comfortable as long as you are?”  
“Yeah”  
“Well then I guess you get tickled, too”  
Haru immediately became a squirming mess when Rin's hands found his sides, and Rin smirked as he followed Haru to the other side of the bed, grabbing him just in time to stop him from falling over the edge.  
“Stop it” he whined “I just wanted to sleep”  
“With me?”  
“Shut up”  
“Is that why you start mumbling my name every night? To see if I'm asleep yet?”  
Haru flooded red, and Rin smiled softly as he struggled to fumble out an answer.  
“Come here, idiot”  
He pulled Haru in close again, nudging his head down so his hair only brushed on Rin's neck this time instead of his face. Haru balled his fists in Rin's shirt, holding him tightly, his face still warm.  
“Hey” Rin smiled, poking him lightly with a toe “if you want me to take it off, just say so”  
“Take it off”  
It was Rin's turn to blush this time. Somehow he had never considered that Haru might actually call him on his teasing. But obediently he pulled his shirt over his head and threw it aside, letting Haru snuggle up against his skin instead.  
“Rin?”  
“You're already here, you don't need to keep doing that”  
“No, I just... Thank you.”  
“What? For what?”  
“You've been letting me sleep with you and stuff, since I told you I liked you”  
“You don't have to thank me for that”  
“It's nice of you though, letting me have my moment while I'm here”  
“Haru, you're an idiot” Rin told him, lightly nudging his chin so their eyes met “you know I like you too, right?”  
“What?”  
“Did I not say that before?”  
“No”  
“Well I do”  
“Okay”  
Haru closed his eyes again, but this time he had a tiny little smile on his face as he did, and Rin leaned his cheek on his head lightly.   
“Rin?”  
“Yes, Haru?”  
“Does that mean I really can stay here as long as I want?”  
“Yes, Haru.”  
“Even if it's weeks?”  
“Yes”  
“Months?”  
“Yes”  
“Years?”  
“Yes, but you'll have to fill out some paperwork to get a visa”  
“How do I get that?”  
“Find a job or get married”  
“Married?”  
“Mm, to an Australian citizen”  
“Where do I find one of those?”  
“I can apply for it in a couple of months”  
“Are you going to?”  
“Maybe”  
“Maybe?”  
“Damn it Haru, you said you wanted to sleep” Rin grimaced “why are we talking so much?”  
“You said it was too late to sleep”  
“Yeah, but then I found out you wanted to cuddle and I was okay with it”  
“And that means no talking?”  
“Not about this”  
“Why not?”  
“Because I don't know, Haru. I've been here for four years, not to mention when I was here as a kid. I like it here. I could go to the Olympics with them, if I got citizenship”  
“Then why wouldn't you?”  
“Because I always thought I'd go to the Olympics with Japan”  
“Oh. And you can't train here but compete for Japan?”  
“I can, kind of. If I go back to Japan for that year, or something. I don't remember”  
“But?”  
“But I'd lose my Japanese citizenship if I took the Australian one”  
“Oh. So don't take it”  
“But then I can't marry you to let you stay here”  
“You can't marry me anyway”  
“I mean, not right now, but one day you might decide you're okay with it”  
“But it's not legal”  
“Not in Japan”  
Haru froze, tilting his head back to look at Rin and finding his eyes closed.  
“Is it here?”  
“Yeah, basically”  
“We should live here then”  
“Haru, stop” Rin smiled faintly, but still didn't open his eyes “We're not making life decisions based on whether or not we could theoretically get married one day”  
“Why not?”  
“Because we could get married here even if we didn't live here”  
“Oh. We should do that then. Live here so you can train with your friends, get married here, then compete for Japan at the Olympics”  
“You're ridiculous”  
“Why?”  
“Thinking about all this stuff already. You haven't even asked me on a date yet”  
“Okay, let's go on a date”   
Rin opened one eye to look at him skeptically, but Haru looked entirely innocent and serious.  
“Really?” Rin mumbled “You want to be my boyfriend?”  
“Uh-huh”  
“Okay. Later, then.”  
“Later?”  
“Yeah. Right now is cuddles and sleep time”  
Haru smiled slightly as he obediently curled up to Rin again, closing his eyes as he ran his fingertips over lean, tight muscles. Even though he had been the one to ask for more sleep, Rin was out like a light, while Haru still smiled to himself and explored the man's impressive body.   
“Boyfriend” he mumbled to himself, testing the word “my boyfriend, Rin”  
He knew his cheeks were tinged with pink, but he smiled all the same, quickly burying his face in Rin's chest. It wasn't much longer before he forgot about his headache and drifted off, curled up tight and warm, and Rin opened one eye to smirk at him.

Rin had graduated to dragging Haru by the hand instead of the arm, but still Haru found a way to whine.  
“Where are we going?”  
“You'll find out”  
“We didn't swim this morning”  
“You'll be fine”  
“Riiin”  
Damn it. Rin was a sucker for Haru saying his name like that.  
“Haru, please.” He placed his hands on soft cheeks, looking deep into his eyes “Trust me”  
“Is this your idea of a first date?” Haru pouted “sitting on buses and trains all day?”  
“It wouldn't be all day if you'd gotten up earlier”  
“You fell asleep before me”  
“You dragged me back to bed. If you keep sticking your lip out at me like that I'm gonna bite it”  
“Is that our bus?”  
Rin glanced back and sighed as he took his hands off Haru's face, waving him toward the doors.  
“Not much further, I promise”  
All the whining was worth it when they arrived and he saw the look on Haru's face.  
“Is that a pool?”  
“Yeah”  
“On the ocean?”  
“Yeah”  
He stared out over the water like it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, and Rin laughed when he pulled his shirt over his head.  
“Five minutes, we have to go through the building”  
“Fine” Haru grumbled, keeping his shirt in his hand “Let's go”  
Rin started to lead him toward the entrance and Haru slipped a hand back into his, looking away when Rin grinned back at him. It didn't take long at all for them to be out on the edge of the pool, and this time there was no stopping him when Haru stripped and dove in.  
“Salty” he pulled a face “I forgot about that”  
“Yeah” Rin laughed, moving Haru's clothes out of the splash zone and stripping for himself “Wait until a big wave comes, it's great”  
He jumped in beside Haru and laughed when he held out a hand again, obediently clasping it in his own.  
“Someone got clingy all of a sudden”  
“You're supposed to hold hands on a date”  
“Who told you that?”  
“I see people on dates sometimes”  
He lay back in the water and Rin didn't put up any protest about going with him, lying on their backs with the sun beating down on them, the cold water carrying their tired limbs. Haru squeezed his hand briefly and Rin held on a little tighter, locking their fingers securely together. It seemed to satisfy Haru, who was smiling when Rin opened an eye to peek at him.  
The moment died quickly when water crashed down on them both, Haru looking bewildered while Rin laughed like it was the funniest thing he'd ever seen.  
“I warned you about the waves” he laughed, when Haru looked at him with shock “I guess the ocean didn't want us to relax”  
“It was just jealous” Haru mumbled, still not letting go of Rin's hand as they stood in the water, dripping salt.  
“I can't blame it” Rin smiled wryly “Even the ocean wants to touch me”  
“Shut up” Haru sighed, lying back to float again “Don't be so conceited”  
“Isn't that why you like me?”  
“A little”

“You don't swim very much” Haru mumbled, studying Rin across the counter “For someone who moved here just for that”  
“What do you mean?”  
“Three hours a day?”  
“That's not normal” Rin clarified “Most of the time we have two hours in the afternoon too, plus dryland twice a week. We just got back from a big competition overseas, so with this next one coming up too he put us on reduced hours. So no-one would burn out or anything”  
“Oh”  
“Most of us are still doing extra outside of training hours, but it's a little more laid back than a proper session”  
There was something satisfying about the way Haru looked at him, as if he'd always been there, as if he'd never go anywhere else. He belonged in that seat, watching Rin cook, flipping at pages of his sketchbook absentmindedly. Especially now that Rin could touch him and tease him without any qualms, without fear he might just decide he'd had enough and walk out.  
“Rin?”  
“Huh?”  
“You're staring”  
“Yeah, well, you're cute” he grinned, turning back to the pot on the stove “Can you blame me?”  
“But when you're staring at me I can't stare at you”  
“Is that what you're doing there? Not lost in thought about drawing and swimming, just watching my butt?”  
“Yeah”  
“And no shame about it at all”  
“No”  
“Enjoying the view, at least?”  
“Your pants are baggy”  
“What, you'd rather I cooked in my swimsuit?”  
“Yeah”  
“Your wish is my command”  
He dropped his jeans to the ground, where his now-dry swimsuit was still hanging out, waiting for them to go to the pool after dinner. Haru's face lit up like he'd never seen before, and he smiled fondly as he pulled his shirt off too.  
“Better?”  
“Much”  
He was glad he'd never been a self-conscious person, since he could feel Haru's eyes burning holes in the thin material. They didn't leave a lot to the imagination, although they were very remotely better than his actual competition suit, but he knew Haru had seen him in an almost identical pair hundreds of times.  
“Why do you still wear long ones?” Haru asked, almost like he was reading Rin's mind “You can't for competition, so why for training?”  
“Why do you still wear the exact same jammers you bought when you were, like, thirteen?”  
“They're comfortable”  
“Exactly”  
“But won't your times be slower in the competition?”  
“Oi” Rin glared “Don't you go suggesting I can't win without my swimsuit helping me”  
“You said that, not me”  
“I normally train in shorter ones” Rin sighed, turning to switch the stove off “but I wore out a pair and these are comfortable, so I just went with it. Plus I haven't had to shave my legs in like a week, it's great”  
“Is that why you've been wearing pants in bed?”  
“Pretty much”  
He dished up plates of food and slid them toward Haru, walking around the bench to take his seat at Haru's side. By the time he sat down Haru was already digging in like his life depended on it, and Rin paused for a moment to stroke his hair lightly.  
“You know you can tell me if you're hungry” Rin smiled faintly “you don't have to wait for the next meal”  
“Hadn't noticed” he mumbled, his mouth stuffed full “until there was food”  
“Alright, I'll start offering you constant snacks”  
“Okay”  
“Do you want to swim again after we eat?”  
“Yeah”  
“Then you might want to eat a little slower”  
Haru pulled a face, but shoved less food in his mouth on the next bite, and Rin watched him fondly as he started on his own.  
“Seriously” Rin chuckled, when Haru glanced at him “you're too cute”


	7. Day 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When did this fic get so long?

After their day off, Haru felt good to be back in a training session. It was strange, considering he much preferred to work on his own when he was back in Japan. Maybe it was the same stubbornness that made him determined to beat Rin – if they did the same training, Rin couldn't pull ahead again. He just had to match him step for step, stroke for stroke, and then sneak in a few extra sets whenever Rin wasn't looking to get the edge on him. He was unusually focused as he swam the laps, took every little correction offered to him, nodded his understanding and prepared to dive in and do it again, do it better.   
His turns had become explosive, Rin noticed, when he paused for a drink. The advantage Rin had always assumed he'd have was almost negligible now. It was hard not to watch him when he got like this, but Rin tore his eyes away stubbornly and took his spot back in a lane, snapping his goggles into place and honing in on his own movements, his own technique.

“That's us for today, get some rest”  
The words came far too soon for Rin's liking. He didn't know how many laps he'd done since he dove back in, but he knew it wasn't enough. Haru was already climbing out of the water, usually the last to leave, and Rin watched him pull off his cap and goggles, watched the dark hair and icy eyes come into view, just to reassure himself they hadn't switched places in the night.  
“You ready to go?” He asked quietly, when he caught Rin looking  
“Not really” he grimaced, folding his arms “Coach, can I do one more set?”  
“Only if it's a good set”  
“Deal”  
This time it was Haru's turn to watch, awed by the grace and raw power that had only magnified over the years. He'd been swimming butterfly most of the day, since he'd been neglecting it as of late, but he'd returned to free for his grand finale. It occurred to Haru that he never really watched Rin swim. Sometimes he would get a glimpse between sets, but for the most part they liked to be in the water together, side by side to push each other. And with every stroke of his arms, every kick of his long legs, Haru wanted nothing more than to grab the man and shower his body with kisses and gratitude, to praise him for being so beautiful, to thank him for being the living embodiment of what he loved about being in the water.  
“Not bad, Rin” the coach nodded, grinning as Rin climbed over the side “feel a little more satisfied now?  
“Yeah” he agreed breathlessly. “Thank you”  
“Go relax now, alright? You've been looking a little tense lately”  
“I will”  
They parted ways and Haru threw his arms around a damp waist, holding him with every ounce of strength he could possibly muster.  
“Woah” Rin laughed, hugging him back happily “where is this coming from?”  
“You're beautiful” Haru mumbled “Thank you”  
“What are you talking about?”  
“N-Nothing”  
He took a step back and Rin watched him fondly, eyeing the rosy tint to his cheeks.  
“Did you want to go to the spa?” he asked, when he looked back “Coach told you to relax”  
“Yeah, that sounds good”

The weirdest part of this trip, Haru thought, was that he was wearing underwear. It had felt weird to go to dinner in his swimsuit, so he'd managed to dig out one of the few pairs of genuine underpants he owned and brought with him. Not that anyone else knew that, and he was sure Rin assumed otherwise, but for some reason it had seemed more appropriate.  
“Rin?”  
“Hm?”  
He turned around to look, an elastic tie between his teeth as he pulled his hair back, and Haru shook his head faintly to break their gaze.  
“Never mind”  
Rin took the tie from his mouth and secured his hair, then looked pointedly at Haru.  
“Talk to me”  
“You're gonna translate properly this time, right?”  
“I don't think I need to as much anymore” Rin grinned “but yeah, I don't exactly have anything left to hide”  
“Do they know?”  
“About what?”  
“About me and you”  
“Ah... I think they knew I liked you, that wasn't exactly subtle. But no, I haven't told them yet.”  
“What?”  
Rin waited for more clarification, raising his eyebrows at the small figure huddled in the same dumb shark hoodie he'd borrowed days ago, and did his best to be patient.  
“How long have you...?”  
“Forever, Haru” he laughed “I'm sure I didn't really understand it when I was a kid, but it was there”  
“Really?”  
“Yeah. Why? How long have you liked me?”  
“I don't know”  
“What's that supposed to mean?”  
“I probably only realised it this week”  
“That's okay”  
“But, I mean... I don't think anything has changed”  
“Huh?”  
“I mean... I don't think it's new. I just... Finally noticed”  
“I'll take it” Rin laughed. “That's better than only liking me for two days”  
“Much more than that”  
“Good”  
He tugged at Haru's hood, pulling it down over his eyes, and Haru batted him off lightly.  
“So I shouldn't hold your hand when we get there?”  
“You absolutely should, that saves me telling them”  
“I'm serious”  
“So am I”  
“Fine, you asked for it”  
Haru clung tightly to his hand for the rest of the walk, and he grinned as he squeezed back, leading him down the appropriate driveway.  
“Come on in, fellas!” came the call from inside, as soon as Rin moved to knock “no need to be shy”  
“It's good to see you again, Haru” Lori beamed at him “I'm so glad you decided to come visit again”  
“How've you been, mate?”  
Russell offered him a hand and Haru shook it politely, managing a faint smile as he nodded.  
“I'm good, thank you. And you?”  
“We're doing great, come have a seat and fill us in”  
Rin was about to explain, but Haru didn't seem to have any confusion on his face, and he was surprised to see Haru nod again.  
“Ah... I'm here for the competition at the end of the month. It will be the first time Rin and I compete against each other since a long time ago”  
“Officially, he means” Rin smirked “we do it a lot on our own time”  
“Oh yeah? How does that work out?”  
“He's still eating my bubbles”  
Haru dropped his hand to punch him, and Rin laughed both at the offense in Haru's face and the fact that he'd understood such a dumb expression.  
“It's tight” he said, a little more seriously “it's gonna be a close one”  
“No” Haru scoffed “I've been easy on you”  
“You've picked up some weird phrases, haven't you?” Rin folded his arms, considering Haru's self-satisfied eyes briefly “where are you getting all these?”  
“Your friends”  
“And you're just saving them to use in context when you feel like it?”  
“No, I ask them what it means”  
“Seriously? You?”  
He shrugged a little, and Rin smiled fondly as he sighed.  
“Sorry, Russell” Rin offered “he's been learning some weird English”  
“Best way to learn it is from hearing it, right? That's what you always claimed”  
“Yeah, that's the only reason he's gotten beyond 'I don't speak English' and 'thank you' in the past week”  
“Rin speaks it too much” Haru grimaced “I don't understand anything he says if I don't learn the English words”  
“He's definitely turning into an Aussie” Lori laughed from the kitchen, “stay a year and you'll start doing it too”  
“I think Rin would get annoyed with me here for a year”  
“Better than being depressed when you leave again”  
“Russell, stop” Rin laughed awkwardly “It wasn't that bad”  
“Depressed?” Haru asked, glancing at Rin first, then turning his gaze to Russell “I'm sorry, I don't understand”  
“Very, very sad”  
Haru frowned as he put the pieces of the puzzle together, looking again at Rin's flushed face.  
“You were upset when I left?” he asked quietly, switching to Japanese again briefly “when?”  
“Ah... I mean, most times when I see you” he smiled sheepishly “I never really want to leave you again”  
“Really?”  
“Yeah”  
“I didn't know”  
“It's okay”  
They stared at each other, Haru wide-eyed and Rin strangely embarrassed, broken from their gaze when dishes landed on the table top.  
“I don't plan to leave again” Haru said finally, as he looked at the plates and bowls being set down “this looks very good, thank you”  
“Our pleasure Haru, please come every week”  
“I will if you tell Rin” he smiled wryly “he might get jealous you are giving me attention”  
“Yeah right” Rin scoffed, but smiled softly “I'm sure I'll cope”

Russell drove them all the way back to the apartment, since the weather didn't look promising, and Haru shook his hand again when they parked.  
“It was great to see you, Haru. Come back again next week”  
“I will, thank you”  
“Keep working hard, Rin. I want to see you win gold in at least one race”  
“You're coming to watch?”  
“Of course I am. An international meet in our own city? We wouldn't miss it for the world”  
“Thank you. We'll see you next week”  
“Looking forward to it, you two have a good night”  
Rin shut the door behind them and waved as he drove away, a little reluctant to look down at Haru's face. He was waiting for something to be said, although he wasn't entirely sure what, but instead he just felt Haru's arm hook through his.  
“Thank you” he mumbled, leaning his cheek against Rin's shoulder “that was nice”  
“I'm glad you enjoyed yourself”  
“Please don't get upset if I have to leave”  
There it was. That was what he saw coming, only it hurt twice as much as he could have expected, hearing it in Haru's quiet, blunt tones.  
“You're not leaving, so it doesn't matter” Rin argued, dragging him toward the doors “we don't need to talk about it”  
“I'll come back, even if I have to leave. I promise”  
“Stop it, Haru. Seriously, I don't want to talk about it”  
“It's only a ten hour flight. You could come visit me too”  
“Haru!” he insisted, breaking their intertwined arms apart to look at him “please, just don't”  
“Why?”  
“Because I don't want you to leave! It's too soon!”  
There was silence for a moment, and tears glistened in Rin's eyes that he stubbornly blinked away.  
“I'm still here for a long time” Haru said softly “you'll have had enough by then”  
“Never” Rin insisted, wiping away a stray tear “I'll never get sick of you”  
“Okay”  
“Okay?”  
“Yeah, okay”  
He hooked his arm through Rin's again, and this time it was his turn to lead them inside, leaning his head comfortably on Rin's shoulder as they stood in the elevator.


	8. Day 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things can't stay the same forever

Rin and Haru fell into an easy rhythm as the days went on, swimming together in the morning, spending the days at the gym or occasionally sightseeing, then returning to the pool again for a more relaxed session in the evenings. Rin couldn't remember what he'd done before Haru was there. He slotted so easily into the life, made an effort with the other members of Rin's squad, and for the most part Rin didn't even need to translate anymore. Their matches were still intense, but Rin had managed to come out on top for the majority of them, and as hard as Haru tried he always seemed to be just moments behind.  
After the third time he beat the boy by a hair, he'd changed to his shorter swimsuit. As much as he hated to admit it, he feared Haru could have been right about his times changing on the day, and he was determined to make sure nothing could possibly hinder his chances.  
His runs had dropped to maybe three times a week, with Haru in bed beside him, but he'd made up for it with extra time in the gym before or after work. It was impossible to drag himself out every day while Haru was lying there with his little pout. When he did go, Haru had taken to joining him. He would never say it out loud, but he was starting to get serious about the meet. Seeing the Australian team had woken something inside of him that Rin hadn't seen in years, a realisation that there were actually people around who were better than him, a determination to fix that as soon as possible.  
  
Before they knew it, the Japanese team had arrived, and Haru had realised with a jolt that he had his own team to train with, his own country to swim for.  
“You're not going to the hotel, are you?” Rin asked with a grimace “you can't be serious”  
“Only to visit” Haru assured him “to get my gear from my coach”  
“And then coming right back here?”  
“Yeah”  
“Alright” Rin conceded “I'll see you after work, then. You have your key?”  
“Yeah”  
“Take care of yourself” Rin mumbled, hugging him tightly “don't say anything stupid”  
“I'll try”  
It wasn't far to go, of course, to visit them. Their competition was going to be in the same pool Haru had been practicing in, the one he had been determined to understand and conquer, before he'd realised he'd fallen in love with it. It only made sense that the team would choose a hotel nearby.  
“Haruka!” his coach exclaimed, when he found them in the lobby “Have you had a good trip?”  
“Yeah” he nodded “it's been great”  
“Have you been doing all your training sets?”  
“And more”  
“Glad to hear it. We're just waiting for room keys, hold on for five more minutes, sorry”  
“It's fine”  
He sat down on one of the seats in the lobby, digging out his phone to make sure he hadn't missed any messages. Only three people had the number, so he was fairly confident there would be nothing, but still he couldn't help but look. Nothing.  
He could hear two of the girls talking near the desk, arguing about something with occasional English words thrown in. After spending some time here he was starting to realise his English wasn't nearly as it had been at school, that Rin forgetting himself had apparently made a difference. Not to mention the Australians who were all too happy to help him out.  
Finally he'd had enough and he walked up to the desk, rolling his eyes at the girls as he stepped by neatly.  
“Is there a vending machine to get drinks?” he asked  
“Yes, Sir, on every fifth floor”  
“Thank you”  
He raised an eyebrow at the girls as they stared at him, sighing to himself.  
“Every five floors” he told them “it's not that hard”  
“Th-Thank you”  
Everyone was gathering together now to get their orders, and Haru stuffed his hands in his pockets as he listened to the inane, pointless information.  
“Haruka, are you staying here with us?”  
“No” he answered, without hesitation “I'll meet you at the pool”  
“We're booked to train right after lunch, so be there by half past twelve”  
“Okay”  
“And be ready to work”  
“Okay”  
“The pool is very different to our home pool” he told everyone “but I've been told it's great to swim in, so be prepared to adjust”  
“It's nice” Haru shrugged, when a few people looked at him “It's fast”  
“Here are your timetables, your papers for the meet, and a map of the area. I expect everyone in their rooms before nine. Haruka, I'm trusting you”  
“It's fine” he shrugged “I'm usually back at seven”  
“Good. We have meetings as per the timetable, other than that you all have free reign to do as you feel you need to do. Just be smart. Can you all do that?”  
“Yes, Sir.”  
They all chorused the words, but they were already making plans with their friends on where to go, what to see. Haru considered warning them that most of the sightseeing spots were far away, but decided it wasn't worth the effort, and instead just shouldered his competition bag. They were all identical at first glance, with the same words, the same logos, the same colours. The only identifying features were the luggage tags hanging off them and ribbons tied to handles, for everyone to identify their own. A dolphin shaped keychain hung off one side of Haru's bag, so it was pretty easy to spot it among the rest. The other side held a shark that almost matched, and Haru contemplated removing it before he got back to the apartment.  
“Haruka?”  
He looked up at the dispersing group, at his coach studying his face.  
“Do you need a taxi or anything, to get back?”  
“No” he shook his head “it's only ten minutes”  
“Okay, you be careful, we'll see you tomorrow afternoon”  
“I will”  
He could hear them talking about him as he walked away, one of the managers arguing about 'special treatment', and he had to consciously force himself to keep moving when the coach responded.  
“He's different. This way he'll win”  
He shook it off as he walked through the park, diverting his course to the pool instead of the apartment and throwing his bag in the changing room. The place was nearly empty at this time, and he had the competition pool almost to himself when he dove in, letting the water fill his mind.

Rin waved goodbye as he scanned his card to clock out, pulling his hoodie on over his work shirt. There was a group gathered in the foyer, a few vaguely familiar faces among them, and he stopped to watch them for a minute as they talked.  
“Rin?”  
He grinned as one of the guys broke free of the cluster, beaming at him.  
“Rin, it's been forever! How are you?”  
“I'm good! How are you? Ready to lose?”  
“Oh, you wish” he laughed “what are you competing? Fly? Free?”  
“Both, this time”  
“Yeah? That's great, man. I'll see you there, okay? Get ready to eat my bubbles”  
“Noone will be eating bubbles” Rin laughed, accepting the hand offered to him “I'll be too far ahead”  
“Those are some strong words, buddy. Be ready to put your money where your mouth is”  
“I'm very ready”  
They laughed together before he went back to his group, and Rin walked away with a smile on his face, stopping just inside the door to say hello as he crossed paths with another coworker.  
“That's your Haru in the pool right now, right?” she asked, jerking her thumb toward the pools “he's impressive, I can see why you two get competitive”  
“He's pretty great” Rin agreed, nodding “I should go check on him, excuse me”  
Sure enough, when Rin arrived Haru was the only one in the pool, swimming back and forth down his lane. But he didn't seem relaxed, like his usual alone time. He didn't seem intense and determined, either, like when he was next to Rin. There was something totally different in his motions, something almost frantic.  
“Haru” Rin called, crouching near the blocks “Haru, what's going on?”  
He surfaced with a look of confusion like he didn't know he was in the same country as Rin, let alone the same building, and Rin gave him a gentle smile.  
“Everything okay?”  
“They just expect it” he practically spat the words, not meeting Rin's eyes as he treaded water slowly “Not want it or hope, they just expect it”  
“Expect what?”  
“Medals. Gold medals. That's the only reason they let me come here, the only reason they're letting me stay with you. I'm tired of it! The rest of them just get told to do their best, and I get stuck with... with...”  
“Haru” Rin held out a hand, brushing a droplet from his cheek “it doesn't matter what they think”  
“How long do you think they'll let me swim for them if I don't deliver?”  
“If they expect it from you they obviously know how good you are, they're not going to kick you out”  
“They all look at me like I'm a freak! They won't even talk to me!”  
“You can be a little intense”  
“You're not supposed to take their side!”  
“Would I be here if I was on their side?”  
“No, I guess not” he breathed out slowly “Sorry”  
“Don't be. Are you ready to go home?”  
“Can we sit in the spa for a bit first?”  
“Sure, if you like. Just let me go change, I'll meet you there”  
He was a little hesitant to leave Haru alone, even for a minute, but smiled when Haru shook his head and climbed out of the water.  
“I'll come, I need a drink”  
Rin took his hand as they walked to the changing room, where Haru's impeccable national team bag was waiting for them. He found his drink bottle inside it and threw back half the contents, and Rin wondered just how long he had been in the pool for.  
Rin changed into his swimsuit and left his things behind, his bag touching Haru's lightly as if they were waiting together. The water was the perfect temperature – just hot enough that it took a minute to adjust to – and Rin sighed happily as he lowered himself into it. Haru was a little more tense, despite it being his idea, but seemed content to sit opposite Rin in silence, their feet grazing together in the water.  
“Come here” Rin said, after a minute of soaking. “Turn around”  
He obeyed without a word, nervous when Rin's touched his bare shoulders, but when Rin started to knead his shoulder blades he quickly softened. By the time Rin's hands moved to his back his head was hanging forward, his eyes closed, as if he might drift off at any moment. For a long time they sat there, with Haru perched on the edge of Rin's knees, Rin's hands working their way over all his tight muscles, until the staff on duty started to walk around to tell everyone they were closing soon. Rin gave them a smile and a nod before they even got close, and she held up ten fingers in indication. His hands drifted a little lower, out toward Haru's sides, and he grinned cheekily as he scratched lightly at his ribcage.  
“What was that for?” Haru whined, pulling away as he began to squirm “that's mean”  
“Time to go, they're closing”  
“Already?”  
“How long exactly have you been here?” He asked, frowning slightly “hours?”  
“Probably”  
Rin took his hand and led him back to the changing rooms, drying himself off briefly and pulling sweatpants over his swimsuit, glancing at Haru before he pulled his shirt over his head.  
“You okay?”  
“Yeah”  
“You know you can talk to me, right? If you want to”  
“I know”  
He picked up his hoodie and threw it into Haru's arms, smiling as he picked up both their bags.  
“Come on, time to go home”  
Home. That word again that made Haru ache, made him think and feel so many things he didn't have time for.  
“Coming?”  
“Y-Yeah”  
He pulled the hoodie on and huddled in the warm material, hitching one sleeve up a little when Rin reached for his hand, and pulled up the hood to cover his cheeks and neck as they walked.  
“Cold?”  
“Not really”  
Rin considered him, and he blushed faintly as he avoided the concerned red eyes.  
“Just comfortable”  
“Okay” Rin laughed. “That's alright then”  
“I saw my squad”  
“I know. How was it?”  
“They're really bad at English”  
Rin dropped his hand as he started to laugh, throwing his arm around Haru's shoulders when he stopped to look up at him with confusion.  
“Look at you, Haru” he grinned “two weeks here and you're already an expert”  
“Hardly. It says a lot when they can't keep up with me”  
“You'll just have to translate for them”  
“Not likely”

Haru squirmed a little when Rin wound an arm around his waist, anticipating what might be to come, but for once Rin was still. He moved his head a little to lean their temples together, savouring the feel of Haru's figure pressed against him, and his empty arm reached for a dish towel as Haru finished his pedantic cleaning.  
“I'm sleepy” he said softly, drying Haru's hands with the towel “come to bed with me?”  
“I...”  
“We can cuddle” Rin smirked, nuzzling his neck lightly “I won't tease or tickle”  
“Promise?”  
“Promise”  
A little sigh escaped Haru's lips when Rin kissed his neck faintly, and he smiled smugly as Haru started toward the bedroom with Rin still pressed to his back.  
In one corner of the room Haru had hung his national team jacket, and Rin couldn't help but be curious, considering how much stress the whole thing had been causing him only hours ago. They split apart briefly to change, and Rin halted Haru gently when he reached for the hoodie he'd adopted as his pajamas.  
“I want to feel you for once too” he said, with a little smile “I always take my shirt off for you”  
“Okay”  
“Okay?”  
“You just had to ask”  
Haru had showered for a long time when they got home, and Rin was surprised to see he hadn't put a new swimsuit on when he'd finished. For some reason he had actual, genuine underpants on, and that felt strangely intimate.  
Rin had finally gotten around to shaving his legs when he ditched the legskins, so Haru didn't pull faces at him this time when he intertwined their legs. He'd gotten a lot less shy about cuddling up to Rin in the night, even if he still blushed sometimes when they hugged anywhere else, and Rin relished the knowledge that he wanted to be close, even if it was only in the most private of circumstances.  
“I have to train with the Japanese team tomorrow” he murmured into Rin's neck, “you'll be at work”  
“It's not until the afternoon?”  
“Mm. Twelve thirty”  
“Are you still coming with me in the morning, then?”  
“Ah... I don't know. Would they mind?”  
“They loved having you this morning, why would it be any different tomorrow?”  
“Because I'm swimming against them soon”  
“It'll be fine, I promise”  
“Okay. Yes please”  
“Wow, did you just say please?”  
“Shut up”  
“I guess that means you don't want to run in the morning”  
“It's fine”  
“Is that a yes or a no?”  
“Ah... Yes. I do”  
“Okay. No pouting when the alarm goes off, then”  
“I don't pout”  
“You never stop pouting” Rin laughed, brushing his finger over Haru's lips “It's adorable”  
“Shut up”  
“Ready for cuddles and sleep?”  
“Uh-huh”  
“Okay, sweet dreams Haru”  
“Night Rin”


	9. Day 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I miss writing happy stuff, I'm sorry.

It was cold when they left the apartment, and Rin smiled faintly as Haru pulled the sleeves of the shark hoodie down over his hands. He knew the route by now, so Rin no longer had to give him directions, which made for a much more pleasant experience – at least as pleasant as running could ever be.   
“You know” Rin began, breathing a little heavier “I have other hoodies you can steal”  
“I like the shark”  
“Okay” he chuckled “carry on, then”  
Haru picked up his pace a little and Rin was caught by surprise, breaking his calm, even stride to avoid falling behind. When he caught back up he could see a little smirk on Haru's lips, and it took all his self-control to not kiss him right then and there.  
“If I beat you back, you have to cook breakfast” Haru told him, glancing back “I want fish”  
“You can have whatever you want, you'll be cooking it yourself”  
He took off, but he could still hear Haru's footsteps beside him, not giving him an inch. He was surprised, in all honesty, that Haru could actually keep up with him. Haru had never been the type to do much other than swim, although Rin supposed his elite training had probably demanded it of him.  
They were almost back at the apartment building when Haru sped up again, leaving Rin laughing too much to try and keep up, jogging the last stretch as he looked at Haru's smug face in the doorway.  
“Fish it is” Rin laughed, hugging him lightly “good job”  
“Don't patronise me”  
“Are you really gonna start acting like this?”  
“Maybe”  
He didn't let go until they were safely back inside the apartment, kicking their shoes off in the narrow doorway, sneaking little glances at each other. There was still something in Haru's eyes that he couldn't quite identify, something that was just... off.   
“Are you gonna shower while I cook?”  
“Not much point when we're about to get in the pool”  
“Okay. Does that mean I have to cook in my swimsuit again?”  
Haru smiled wryly but didn't answer, and Rin couldn't help but laugh at him.  
“Is that a yes?”  
“Yeah”  
“Okay, give me a minute”  
He returned to the bedroom to change into his training gear, smirking when his hand brushed over his national team jacket. On a whim he decided to pull it on, leaving it hanging open over his bare chest, and Haru flooded red as soon as he looked.  
“Acceptable?”  
“They're going to kill you if you spill something on it”  
“It'll wash off”  
“Don't blame me if it gets damaged”  
“I suppose I could take it off”  
Haru grumbled something Rin couldn't quite make out, but he gathered all he needed from the flushed cheeks and averted eyes.  
“No?”  
“No”  
He slid onto his usual stool and watched as Rin started to cook, admiring the way his muscles moved every time he took a step, reached for an object, turned his head.  
“What?” Rin asked, with a little smile “you want something?”  
“You're...”  
“I'm what?”  
“Handsome, I guess”  
“You guess?”  
“There's probably a better word”  
“You saying I'm not handsome? Jerk”  
Haru shook his head faintly as Rin laughed, contemplating while Rin went back to cooking. When he stopped to take a drink from his water bottle he glanced back again, at Haru's contemplative face, and waited expectantly.  
“Sexy” Haru said flatly, almost making Rin spit out his water “That's closer”  
“What are you saying?” Rin's face burned, and he quickly looked away “Shut up”  
“In the water you're beautiful, but on land you're not soft enough for that”  
“You can stop”  
“Why?”  
“It's embarrassing”  
Haru looked at him with a strange innocence, genuinely confused about why Rin was flustered, and Rin sighed as he threw fish on a plate and handed it over.  
“Here” he mumbled, avoiding Haru's eyes “Eat”  
He returned for the rest of the food as Haru dug in happily, sitting down beside him with a few more bowls, but still he couldn't manage to come up with anything to say.  
“Sometimes I take breaks just to watch you swim” Haru mumbled, his mouth full.  
“What are you talking about?”  
“I like seeing you swim”  
“Where is all this coming from?”  
Haru shrugged, and Rin sighed through a tiny smile.  
“Thank you” he said after a moment, leaning over to kiss the top of Haru's head “you're very sweet”  
He shrugged again, like it was all no big deal, and Rin watched for a while as he made his way through breakfast with motions that looked too precise, almost calculated.  
“Is this about yesterday?”  
“Yesterday?”  
“With your coach”  
“No”  
“Are you sure there's nothing you want to talk about?”  
“Not really”  
“Well, alright” he sighed “you know I'm here, if you need to complain or anything”  
“I will” he agreed, swallowing the last of his fish “probably after training with them”  
“Okay” Rin laughed “I look forward to it”  
“You should come after work, we finish at three. We can sit in the spa and complain”  
“You decided you like the spa after all, huh?”  
“Not really”  
“You suggest it a lot for 'not really'”  
“Yeah”  
“Should I bother asking?”  
Haru shrugged again, and Rin sighed fondly, giving up and going back to his food.  
“Hey Haru?” Rin started awkwardly, when Haru took his dishes to the sink “I, um...”  
“What?”  
“N-Never mind... It's nothing”  
“Tell me”  
“I just... When I see you in the pool, floating and looking all peaceful, and... I like watching you too, okay? The look on your face is... Yeah”  
“What are you saying?”  
“Come on, you know what I'm saying” Rin grumbled, his cheeks burning pink again “I like you, I like looking at you. You're... cute. Handsome. Amazing.”  
“You think so?”  
“Yeah, I really do”  
“Okay”  
“Really? Okay?” Rin grimaced “That was hard to say, you know”  
Haru dried his hands and walked back around the counter, leaning down close to Rin's ear.  
“Okay” he repeated softly, kissing Rin's cheek “Thank you”  
There was an amused little smile on his face as he stepped back again, so incredibly satisfied by watching Rin flail for words, or even coherent noises, and failing miserably to find them.  
“We should go” Haru pointed out, as he took a towel from the cupboard “we'll be late”  
“You can't just do that and then act like nothing happened!”  
“Do what?”  
“You know what!”  
He could still feel Haru's lips, and he brushed his fingertips over his cheek to savour it, softening as Haru watched him silently.  
“Sorry” he said finally “I should have asked”  
“No!”  
“No?”  
“Don't ever ask, just... If you want to... I've told you before, it's your choice, whenever you're ready you can just... Damn I never expected to be so bad at this”  
“We should go” Haru said again, this time with a softer look in his eyes “come on”  
“Y-Yeah, I'm coming” he grumbled, shoving his chair back. “Just a minute...”

Everyone was starting to really dial in at the morning's training, the laughter and joking all but gone as competition day got closer. Haru still felt weird about being there when he knew he had to swim with his own team later, but they all treated him just like they had every other day, like none of them could have cared less. Rin was back to swimming butterfly again, and Haru couldn't help but be impressed as he watched. The motions seemed so unnatural, so completely foreign in Haru's mind, but somehow Rin made them look strong and powerful and graceful. If he ever tackled another stroke, it would definitely not be that one.  
When Rin looked over at Haru, he could tell things were almost back to normal. The motions that had been so frantic and abnormal the day before had gone back to the smooth technique he knew so well. There was a little crease in his forehead that told Rin he was concentrating harder than ever, and if he didn't know better he would have sworn he was watching Rei do math before a dive. Whatever he was thinking, though, it was gone the moment his hands touched the water, when his legs started to kick and his arms started to pull. Every time he saw Haru swim he wanted to go back to free again, and unfortunately that meant his butterfly times had begun to suffer. He was determined to get them back to normal before it really mattered – even if he beat Haru in the important race, no-one would ever let it go if Haru got more medals than him.  
When the clock ticked over to eight and the coach called them in, Rin found himself reluctant to get out again. Haru had been rubbing off on him somehow, had left him constantly wanting more no matter how tired he got.   
“We have dryland this evening, I expect you all at six at the sports centre. Any questions?”  
“No, Coach”   
“Go on then, take it easy for a few hours”  
Rin knew he had to go get ready for work, but still he groaned as the group dispersed, barely resisting the temptation to jump back in. Haru gave him an understanding look, but he too started to head for the changing rooms, and Rin followed slowly.  
“I hate dryland” he muttered, when they met up at their bags “I'd rather be in the pool again”  
“It'll be booked for other teams”  
“I know, I know”  
“Besides, you like dryland”  
“Not when I want to swim”  
“Now you're just being picky”  
They exchanged a little smile as they changed, and Rin pulled his hair back before he shouldered his bag.  
“Better get in there. You have your key?”  
“Yeah”  
“See you after work then”  
“Hold on”  
Rin paused as Haru finished pulling his hoodie on, giving him a cheeky little smile as he leaned over and kissed his cheek.  
“Okay, bye now”  
“You're the cutest” Rin blushed, kissing him back lightly “Have a good day”  
“Uh-huh, you too”  
Haru watched him go, amused by the hint of pink still in his cheeks when he turned the corner, then sat down to tie his shoes. He could hear voices outside as he picked up his bag, and almost ran headfirst into a group of tall men in red and gold tracksuits.  
“Excuse me” he mumbled, as he ducked past them “Sorry”  
None of them seemed to even noticed his presence, even though he recognised half their faces, and he frowned as he sneaked a glance back at them.  
“Just wait until I take your medals” he muttered to himself “then ignore me”

Haru felt peaceful as he sat at the kitchen counter, old newspapers littering the surface to protect it. He was finally satisfied with the background of his canvas, after a week of trying to memorise every tile, every sign, every pillar and post and beam in the aquatic centre. The next bit was what he'd been dreading, though. He was tempted to just leave it as it was, knowing Rin would never know the difference, but he had an image in his head that he couldn't bring himself to destroy.  
Drawing himself was simple enough. He'd never had the problem most of his classmates had, where they were afraid to draw their imperfections, but when he'd sketched Rin in the pages of his book it had been much, much harder. It wasn't like it was a massive drawing, where every detail would be noticeable. If anything, he could have just drawn a generic male figure and put red hair and leggings on it. The more he studied the young man, though, the more he wanted to make every line perfect.  
It was after twelve, though, and he'd soon have to run off for another training session. With a last sigh he took the canvas out to the little balcony and turned it toward the wall, carefully positioned so Rin wouldn't catch a glimpse of it unless he went all the way out there and saw it. Haru had been doing all the laundry, though, in the hopes of hiding it a little longer.   
He folded the newspapers and tucked them in the bottom of his backpack with the paints, returning to the kitchen sink to clean his hands and hide all evidence he'd ever been there. By the time he'd finished it was easily time to leave, so he threw his shoes on and jogged toward the pools.  
The coaches and his teammates were already there waiting when he arrived. He'd expected that, though, since they would have all walked there together. None of the athletes said hello as he passed, although he got a nod from one of the managers, and he waited patiently for the coach to finish his conversation.  
“Oh, there you are Haruka. We're just waiting for someone to come show us where to go”  
“You don't know where to go?” Haru frowned, pointing at the little metal gates “it's through there”  
“Oh, that's right, you've been swimming here. Why don't you take us through, then?”  
He could see little plastic cards in the hands of a few of the athletes already, so he shrugged as he wandered toward the gates and scanned himself through. His coach followed, and slowly a stream of people joined them, marveling at the shining pool. Haru wasted no time in stripping off his hoodie and throwing it aside, catching himself right before he dove in.  
“Ah... changing rooms are there” he mumbled, pointing toward the doors  
“Thank you”  
As soon as he turned around to talk to the team, Haru was in the water. He'd left his bag behind – accidentally as usual, although he'd claim otherwise when Rin arrived – so he didn't bother taking his shoes and hoodie into the changing rooms, and instead just left them out of the splash zone against a wall. The water was cool and calm, and when he looked up at the roof he saw the same familiar shapes and lines he'd been painting less than an hour ago, satisfied that he'd done it justice.  
“Haruka?”  
“Huh?”  
He rolled over and paddled to the edge of the pool, looking up at the manager who spoke as the rest of the team started to slowly trickle back out.   
“Do you have your team gear on you? I did the inspection for everyone else last night”  
“No, I have it all though”  
“Bring it tomorrow please, so I can be sure”  
“Yeah, okay”  
“It looks like everyone is back”  
He looked up to see people trickling around the side of the pool toward the blocks, and he nodded faintly, turning around to swim back and join them.

Haru sat on the edge of the spa area as he waited for Rin to catch up, slumping against his elbows with his hoodie in his lap, the little shark peering up at him. He'd given up on calling it Rin's hoodie, since he was pretty sure he'd worn it more in two weeks than Rin ever had, and if he decided he wanted it back he'd have to pry it out of Haru's cold, dead hands.  
“Well he hasn't regressed” Haru overheard, surprised to hear anyone else speaking Japanese “that's more than I expected”  
“Did you get any of his sprint times?”  
“No, never had a chance. I'll try again tomorrow”  
Haru scowled as he caught on, lifting soft fabric up to his face to cover it a little. It still smelled of Rin, no matter how many times he washed it. He hoped it had seeped in permanently, that it wasn't just from being in Rin's apartment. That way he'd be able to sleep in it when he was dragged back home, on the nights when he was feeling lonely.  
He suspected that would be all of them.  
When he heard footsteps he looked up, his eyes shining with tears when he saw the little smile above him, the affectionate look on his face.  
“Sorry I'm late, I was helping someone new”  
“It's fine”  
“Are you okay?”  
He nodded faintly, his eyes shifting toward where he could still hear the faint voices, and Rin fell silent.  
“You need to get him under control, he can't just do what he wants all the time if you expect results from him. Tell him he needs to start following instructions if he wants to represent his country”  
“What are they talking about?” Rin mumbled “did you do something?”  
“I don't know”  
“Did you say something stupid?”  
“No”  
“He's not going to stick around if I do that, you know that as well as I do”  
“Then we don't need him, there are plenty of other swimmers who could give anything for a chance at his spot”  
“He's our best shot at winning”  
“What kind of example is he setting for everyone else? Win or lose, they're going to think his behavior is acceptable if you let it slide”  
“This is an individual sport, he doesn't have to play well with others. He did what I asked. He trained every day. He said he even did dryland without us forcing him. Why is this such a big problem to you?”  
“Because now everyone else wants to run off on holiday too!”  
“Oh” Haru mumbled “That's why”  
Rin stood up before Haru could stop him, walking to the corner and slamming a fist against the wall loudly.  
“Oi!” He scowled “Not cool!”  
“Excuse me?”  
“You don't deserve him” Rin fumed, his arms shaking as he clenched his fists tightly “he works way too hard to put up with this bull!”  
“Rin!” Haru insisted, covering his face with the hoodie “Enough!”  
“I'm tired of seeing you stressed out and depressed every time you have to train with them!”  
“It's fine!”  
There was silence for a minute, and when Rin looked back at the two staff members he found surprise in their faces, completely oblivious to the boy sitting well within earshot.  
“I'm so glad I left” he muttered, turning around and snatching his bag from the ground “Come on, let's go”  
“Rin...”  
He almost dropped his jumper on the wet ground when Rin grabbed his hand and dragged him away, fumbling it back into his arms as he struggled to keep up.  
“Rin, please!”  
He stopped and immediately pulled Haru into his arms, holding him tightly even though they were in the middle of a park in broad daylight, where everyone could see them.  
“I don't know how you put up with it”  
“The coach is okay. Really. It's just the rest of them”  
“Sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at them. Now they'll be mad at you tomorrow”  
“It's fine. Thank you for caring”  
“Of course I care” Rin scoffed, and Haru thought he felt a drop of water hit his back “I don't want anyone to hurt you. Ever.”  
“Shut up” Haru mumbled, gently pushing him off “come on, let's go”  
“Sorry”  
“It's fine”

Rin yawned as he waited for everyone to arrive, half-listening to a few people chatter around him, but mostly just staring at nothing.  
“No Haru today?”  
“No, he hates dryland” Rin grimaced, remembering the face Haru pulled when he offered “if he isn't forced to be there, he won't be”  
“I saw the Japanese team here earlier, they were looking pretty good in the water”  
“They're not bad. The managers are awful”  
“How so?”  
“Just jerks” Rin shrugged, trying to shove the thoughts out of his mind “he says his coach is okay though, so it's fine. Just puts a lot of pressure on him to win”  
“I think most coaches do that” he smiled wryly “isn't that the whole point of a coach?”  
“Yeah, maybe” Rin laughed “I guess you're right”  
“You have to let go at some point, buddy. Can't protect him forever”  
“What are you talking about?” Rin scoffed, willing himself not to blush. “Protect him? Hardly”  
“It's cool, no judgment here” he laughed back, and the redness found its way out “he's a good guy”  
“Yeah, he is” Rin mumbled, fixing his hair to distract himself “Thanks”  
With a heavy clap on the back he turned away, and Rin took a moment to compose himself before he joined the rest of them.

“Haru?”  
He cracked one eye open, groaning, and found Rin's smile looking down on him.  
“Long day, huh? Have you eaten?”  
“No”  
“Are you hungry?”  
“Yeah”  
“Okay, I'll cook. What do you want? Fish?”  
“Sausage rolls”  
“You've never even had one”  
“But you said I should try it”  
“Okay” Rin laughed “I think I've got some frozen ones lying around, give me a minute”  
He sat up and rubbed at his eyes with his sleeve as Rin wandered into the kitchen, taking a moment to study the arm muscles sticking out of his singlet.  
“You perving again?” Rin asked when he looked back “I can't blame you, but really”  
“I don't want to forget what you look like”  
“Why would you?”  
“When I have to go back home I might not get to see you again for a while.”  
“You're not leaving, I told you”  
“I don't want to, but I'll probably have to”  
“Don't say that” Rin grimaced “I don't want to think about it”  
“Rin...”  
“Seriously, don't. Please.”  
Haru hesitated, but nodded faintly.  
“Okay. Sorry”  
“Damn it Haru, don't give me that pitiful look” Rin sighed, when Haru ducked his gaze “you'll make me feel guilty if you look at me like that”  
He kissed the top of Haru's head, getting a little smile in return, and he chuckled to himself.  
“Acceptable” he said softly, his fingertip brushing over the corner of Haru's lips. “Cute”  
“So are you” Haru told him, without a hint of embarrassment. “Especially when you get protective”  
“I'm sorry about that, I shouldn't have said anything without asking you first”  
“It's fine”  
“I hope they don't take it out on you tomorrow”  
“They won't”  
“Good”  
Rin shoved a metal tray into the oven and returned to sit at Haru's side, shuffling in close.  
“Are you nervous?”  
“About what?”  
“The competition”  
“Oh. No, not really”  
“Lucky you”  
“Why, are you?”  
“Well yeah, of course. You're the only person who isn't”  
“Oh”  
Ideas flashed through Haru's mind, thoughts he'd pushed away when he lay down on the couch earlier, flooding back suddenly.  
“Maybe a little” Haru amended “about some parts”  
“You're a real person after all”  
“Sometimes” he smiled slightly, leaning into Rin's side “Not always”  
“Better than nothing”  
“I guess so”  
“Sorry we didn't get to hang out in the spa today, are you sore?”  
A thousand thoughts raced through Haru's mind, his heart pounding, then he shrugged awkwardly.  
“A little”  
“Turn around”  
He obediently faced the arm of the couch, sighing when Rin's warm hands touched his back. They sat in a peaceful quiet for a while, only the hum of the oven behind them breaking the silence, and when Rin's thumbs pressed lightly on the small of his back Haru squirmed.  
“Sorry, did that tickle?”  
“No, it felt good”  
“Okay” Rin chuckled, his hands drifting back and making slow little circles as he pushed “Like that?”  
“Yeah. Mmn.”  
His little moan made Rin blush, and he was grateful that Haru couldn't see his face.  
“Rin?”  
“Yeah?”  
“I don't ask for the spa because I'm sore”  
“Okay?”  
“I just like watching how relaxed you get”  
“Really?” Rin laughed “you're cute”  
“And I didn't really hurt now either, but I knew it would feel good if you tried to make it better”  
“Cheater” Rin laughed, tugging at a strand of his hair “you can just ask, you don't have to manipulate me”  
“Can I really?”  
“Yeah, if you want”  
“Okay”  
He leaned back in Rin's lap, looking up at eyes like the sunset they'd watched at the beach on his first weekend here, fiery red and glowing in the light. Eyes full of hope and care and protectiveness.  
“Rin?”  
“Yeah?”  
“Thank you for letting me come here”  
“Thank you for coming”


	10. Day 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Determination is a powerful tool

It was strange how much a decent night of sleep could put everything in perspective. When Haru woke up under Rin's arm he felt less confused and concerned then he remembered feeling in weeks, since he'd realised how he felt. Rin was still sound asleep beside him, even his first alarm yet to sound, and Haru took a moment to listen to his heartbeat and feel his chest rise and fall, to study the soft lines of his lips and the rough ones of his jaw. He was like a strange work of art, something that belonged in a museum.  
“Morning” Rin groaned, as his eyes cracked open “Did I sleep through my alarm?”  
“No, it's early”  
“Everything okay?”  
“Everything's good”  
He raised an eyebrow at the surprisingly non-evasive answer, but didn't bother to question it, instead hugging Haru tighter to his chest with his strong arms.  
“It's nice waking up with you here” Rin murmured into his neck. “Always starts the day on a good note”  
“Uh-huh” Haru agreed, smiling as he leaned on Rin's warm shoulder “my face hurts”  
“How come?”  
“Smiling too much”  
“You're adorable” Rin laughed, kissing his cheek firmly and grinning when Haru laughed at him “The cutest thing in the world”  
“Second” he smiled back, running his hand through Rin's hair “after you”  
“What's gotten into you this morning? You're so cute and affectionate and happy, it's great”  
He rolled over and pulled Haru with him, until Haru was lying on his chest, their faces only inches apart. He could feel Haru's breath on his cheek, warm and light and a little quick, and he wasn't entirely sure if it was his heart or Haru's that thumped between them.  
“Damn it!” Rin groaned, as his alarm started blaring “Whyyy?”  
Haru rolled off with a little chuckle to silence it, sitting up and stretching with a cute little sigh.  
“I'll cook”  
“Yeah?”  
“Yeah, you cooked dinner”  
“Okay, I'll see you in ten minutes then”  
He closed his eyes again and rolled over, grinning when Haru pulled his hair lightly.  
“You're turning into me”  
“God forbid”  
“One of me is enough”  
“Yeah, I don't want your lap times”  
A pillow landed on his face with surprisingly good aim, and he laughed when he peered up at Haru's pout.  
“I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Honestly. I'm coming, hold on”  
He crawled out of bed and watched Haru disappear to the kitchen, smiling fondly to himself.  
“Hey Haru?” he called  
“Yeah?”  
“I'm glad you're happy today”  
“Thanks”

Haru dropped his bag at the feet of the manager as he walked in, not bothering to say a word, and she looked slightly surprised to see him. He walked straight up to the coach, looking him right in the eyes, and he returned the gesture despite other people around them trying to ask questions and get attention.  
“Thank you” Haru said firmly  
“For what?”  
“Understanding that I'm not like them”  
“You don't have to be” he shook his head faintly. “Just keep working hard, don't worry about anything else”  
“Yeah, I will”  
He didn't bother to wait for the go ahead to head to the water, showing himself through instead and ditching his gear in the changing rooms.  
“Time me” he said flatly, as he stepped onto the blocks and adjusted his goggles. “If you really care that much”  
“Don't you want to warm up first?”  
“It's fine”  
He didn't feel like explaining to them that he'd already been running and in the pool before they even would have woken up, and he certainly didn't want to give them potential ammunition by admitting he'd trained with the Australians. Today he was going to let his work speak for itself. That was all that mattered, after all.  
He waited until she had her stopwatch in hand, then lowered himself into position, loading up and firing himself into the water. It felt good. In fact, every lap he'd done this morning had felt good. He knew what he had to do now, he knew what he wanted.  
So he would produce, he would deliver. Just like everyone wanted, like everyone expected. He would take a fistful of gold medals and he would stand next to Rin on the podium, with his golds and one silver.  
The turn felt good.  
He was fast, he was strong, he was a part of the water. They could force him to climb out and wait on the sidelines, they could throw him in a gym or make him run, but the water would always be part of him, would always be waiting for him to come back.  
He'd wanted to conquer the pool, he'd wanted to learn its every secret and use them to his advantage, but this was something else. This was a mutual understanding and trust between him and the water.  
His hand slammed against the wall and he didn't stop to breathe, hauling himself up onto the tiles. When he took his goggles off there were two of them, leaning in close and muttering as they looked at the watch.  
“Well?” He asked stubbornly “What do you have to say?”  
“Twenty-two even”  
Damn. He'd hoped to beat the Japanese record then and there, just to prove his point. Regardless they all seemed pretty impressed and chastised, and he took a deep breath as he stuck his goggles back on.  
“I'll go again”

There was only one more day until they started their battle, only one day left until they settled things once and for all. He knew things would probably get a little tense, what with Rin being nervous and all, so he'd already decided this was the best time.  
Except, of course, for Rin's mood.  
“Let's do something fun” he announced, his eyes glittering “I don't have to work for almost a week, we have all the time in the world to do anything we want”  
“It's already after five, and we have an early start”  
“Come on, at least let me take you out to dinner”  
“What if someone sees us?”  
“Why does it matter?”  
“It's kind of weird”  
“Is it?”  
He looked strangely disappointed, and Haru sighed.  
“Fine” he conceded “take me somewhere nice”  
“What kind of nice are we talking?”  
“Sitting at a table with a candle between us and holding my hand as we eat”  
“You can't be serious”  
“You don't want to?”  
“Do YOU want to?”  
“Yes” he said firmly, folding his arms stubbornly “somewhere nice”  
“Okay” Rin laughed “I'll start looking places up”  
“Good”  
His plan would have to wait. For now he wanted to savour the Rin that was happy to hug and laugh and take him out in public, before there was any chance things could fall apart. At the bottom of his bag was one pair of nice pants and a button-up shirt, just in case he got dragged somewhere more formal. He never expected that he'd be the one to request it, though. He dug them out and started hunting for an iron, eventually finding one way at the back of the closet.  
“I got us a reservation, but we basically have to leave now”  
“Okay”  
Rin came back just as Haru was buttoning his shirt, and he blushed when their eyes met.  
“Wow” he mumbled “You look good”  
“Thanks. Do you need the iron next?”  
“Yeah, thank you”  
He watched as Haru walked out with a pair of dark shoes in hand, stunned for a moment before he gathered his composure and started rifling through his closet.

“Kangaroo?” Haru read, frowning slightly “Like, the jumping things?”  
“Yeah, it's a specialty dish”  
“I'm eating kangaroo” Haru announced, putting his menu down “for sure”  
“Okay” Rin laughed, reaching a hand across the table “Does that mean you're done with your hand?”  
“Yeah”  
He laced his fingers with Rin's, and they smiled at each other for a moment in the candlelight, exactly like Haru had asked for.  
“I talked to some people back in Japan” Haru told him, careful to choose his words wisely and not betray any extra information “so they know I'm here now”  
“Finally”  
“They said to tell you good luck for the competition, I said it was insulting to say you needed luck”  
“You're mean, they were being nice”  
“I know. I told them you'd appreciate it anyway, and that you could probably do with the luck”  
“Big words, buddy” Rin laughed “I forget, who has won more times since you've been here?”  
“Don't know, haven't been counting. Are you that scared of me?”  
“A little” Rin grinned, poking Haru's leg with the toe of his shoe “It's hot hearing you trash talk”  
A short, sarcastic laugh escaped Haru's throat, but he smiled all the same.  
“You have to get one from Fly, at least. I don't want to watch you cry if I have four and you have none”  
“Four?”  
“Yeah, I'm doing the freestyle relay too”  
Rin's jaw dropped open, and he stared in stunned silence until Haru cracked a smile.  
“I'm kidding. Just three”  
“You had me going there”  
“You're too easy”  
Haru gently slipped his hand away when the waitress started to approach, giving Rin an apologetic look and only getting an understanding smile in return.  
“What can I get for you gentlemen tonight?”  
“Tuna then kangaroo please” Haru requested  
“Certainly. And for you, Sir?”  
“The quail then the salmon, thank you”  
“Of course. We'll have that out shortly”  
“Thank you”  
The restaurant was slowly turning as people dined, so they could look out at the views of the city, and Rin smiled when Haru took his hand again.  
“No-one cares, I promise” Rin assured him “they wouldn't even bat an eyelid”  
“Sorry”  
“Don't be, I get it. I'm sure I would have been the same if I hadn't spent so long here”  
“It's nice that they're open”  
“Yeah”  
“Even if it's kind of scary sometimes too”  
“Yeah” Rin laughed “it takes a while to get used to”  
“I wouldn't mind getting used to it”  
“Good”

Haru started to undo his shirt when they got back to the apartment, but Rin stopped him before he'd even gotten to the second button, grinning as he kissed Haru's cheek lightly.  
“Stay that way a little longer, you look good”  
“Okay”  
He started to head for the balcony, and Rin gave him a questioning look.  
“Is it too hot in here?”  
“No. Just wait”  
He retrieved the canvas he'd been working away at, taking one last look at it to reassure himself he was satisfied before he carried it in.  
“Is that for my wall?” Rin asked, sitting bolt upright “When did you do it?”  
“While you were working and things”  
“And I didn't even notice?!”  
“No” Haru smiled slightly “I hope you like it”  
“Show me, show me, show me”  
He held out his hands and made little grabbing motions, grinning when Haru obediently set it in his grasp.  
“Oh my... Haru, wow”  
All together the image was one pool, but while one corner was an exact replica of where they'd been training for the past weeks, complete with every light and every beam of the roof, the other end was the Iwatobi pool where they'd first met met as children. Right in the middle lay two figures, floating in the water, their ears almost touching.  
“Damn Haru, I'm gonna cry” Rin sniffed, wiping one eye with his sleeve “how do you do this to me?”  
“Does that mean it's okay?”  
“Shut up, you know it's better than okay”  
Haru gently took it away and set it aside, nudging his way into Rin's lap to cuddle. Tears soaked through the shoulder of his shirt, but Rin held him tightly, and Haru smiled as he listened to the shuddering breaths.  
“You're such a crybaby” Haru teased, as he kissed Rin's cheek “Even after all this time”  
“I want to see it again”  
Haru pointed to the end of the couch where it was propped against the arm, and the sobs started all over again when Rin looked.  
“It's perfect, Haru. It's amazing”  
“I'm glad you like it. I had to make Makoto send me old photos so I could make sure everything was right”  
“Is that why you told him you were here?”  
“Yeah. He wants you to send him a photo of the painting, when you've put it up”  
“I'll send photos to everyone I know, just to show off how talented my boyfriend is”  
“How many people do you know?”  
“Not enough”  
Haru kissed his cheek again, smiling when Rin turned toward him slightly.  
“I like that word”  
“Boyfriend?”  
“Yeah”  
“Me too”  
Rin's hand tangled in Haru's hair as he gently pulled him closer, closing his eyes as their lips met. Haru kissed him back with far more enthusiasm than he'd expected, his arms folding around Rin's neck to pull him in closer, and Haru moaned as Rin bit at his lip lightly.  
“Damn it, Haru” he mumbled, backing off a little and burning red “those noises aren't fair”  
“Sorry” he smiled wryly “I'll do better next time”  
“Yeah, you need more practice” Rin mumbled, leaning in closer “I can help with that”


	11. Day 19

Despite not needing to be at the pool until nine, Rin still found himself waking up early. His eyes felt sore and swollen, and he grimaced as he remembered all his tears from the night before. Haru was still wearing his shirt from dinner, hanging open over his chest, a lot more wrinkled now than when they lay down.  
“Morning” Rin mumbled, pressing his lips to Haru's. “Today's the day”  
“Today's a day” Haru corrected him, rolling over stubbornly “not the day”  
“Today's your day” Rin reminded him, snuggling up to his back “I don't even have to go, technically”  
“You would go cheer for your team anyway”  
“Yeah, I would. But I'm gonna cheer for you, too”  
“People might not like that”  
“It's fine, ours won't be in your heat”  
“Oh. I can sleep more then, it'll be easy”  
“Can't you take this a little bit seriously? Like, even a tiny bit?”  
“Are we going running?”  
“Only if you want to”  
“Not really”  
“Then no, you can stay in bed a little longer”  
“Okay”  
He looped his arm over Rin's to hold his hand, and Rin smiled fondly as he closed his eyes and shuffled back a little to press himself to Rin's chest. Tomorrow it would be his turn to compete, and he would be far less relaxed than Haru was now. He was sure Haru would be just as calm and content even when it was time for them to face off, but he figured he probably did enough stressing for both of them anyhow.  
Besides, he knew what had happened last time he'd made Haru freak out at a competition.  
“Are you asleep again?” Rin demanded, leaning over to look at Haru's face. “Seriously? That quickly?”  
“Yes” Haru muttered. “Already asleep, be quiet”  
“Do you have all your stuff ready?”  
“Yes”  
“Suit? Cap? Tracksuit?”  
“Yes”  
“What does your suit look like, anyway? I haven't seen the new one yet”  
“Yours”  
“Mine? They look like the Australian ones?”  
“No, yours”  
He didn't quite understand, and Haru cracked a tiny smile in the silence.  
“Red and black” he explained “like most of your training suits”  
“Oh” Rin smiled softly, lying back down to hug him properly “That's what you meant”  
“Uh-huh”  
“What do you want to do before your race?”  
“This”  
“You don't want to warm up or anything?”  
“No, just this”  
“Alright, if you say so” Rin smiled, leaning his head on Haru's “you get your rest”

Haru had finally made it back inside after taking himself on a walk – maybe a run, if his breathing was any indicator. He was stretching out now, getting ready to go, but all Rin could think was how well the Japanese colours suited him. For someone who dressed eternally in shades that reminded him of water, the red made a striking difference.   
“Rin?”  
“Huh?” He tilted his head back to look at the people behind him, raising an eyebrow “Yeah?”  
“Which heat is he in?”  
“The last one”  
“Oh good, I don't have to beat him until the final”  
Rin laughed brightly, shaking his head.  
“Just get a good enough time to make it there, yeah? Don't go getting complacent and missing out”  
“Like I would” he scoffed, ditching his tracksuit. “Wish me luck”  
“You don't need it”  
The heats felt like they dragged on forever, which Rin supposed was mostly because he didn't swim two hundreds very often. Some combination of waiting to watch both his friends, without actually having anything to prepare for himself, was resulting in Rin feeling like he'd had the life sucked out of him.  
“Do you know if the other pools are open?” Rin asked the people around him “the leisure pool, or even the spas or something?”  
“It's all closed to the public, but there aren't any locked doors if that's what you're asking”  
“I'll take it”  
His teammate was finally making his way onto the blocks, and Rin watched the intense focus in his face as he prepared, the ridiculously long legs propelling him into the water.  
“I always feel short, watching you guys dive” he mused “Australia is the only time I'm ever the shortest person in a crowd”  
“How do you think your Haru feels, then?” One of them laughed, nodding toward the poolside where Haru was stripping his tracksuit off. “He looks tiny next to any of us. Next to you, even”  
“He's not much shorter than me”  
“Skinnier though. Doesn't have the Fly frame”  
“No, I guess not”  
“Must be tough to think about him leaving, huh?”  
“He doesn't want to. He likes Australia”  
“He likes it with you, you mean” one of the girls scoffed “he's a cutie, he'll follow you wherever”  
“Please tell me you don't say that stuff in front of him”  
“How come?”  
“He would run away and never come back”  
“I'll keep my mouth shut” she grinned “but really, he doesn't care about Australia, it's you he likes”  
“I'll keep it in mind”  
Haru was finally climbing the blocks, the last heat of the event. All the fastest people were in this one, mostly Americans, all of them significantly bigger than Haru. He didn't seem bothered by it though, in fact he almost looked disinterested as he pulled his goggles into place.  
“What's your bet?” someone asked to his left, but Rin didn't turn to find out who. “Little Haru or the big, scary, USA powerhouses?”  
“Haru” they all answered, without hesitation. “No question”  
Rin smiled at the amount of blind faith he seemed to inspire in people, whether or not he believed it. As he settled into place on his starting block an intensity came over him, not from nerves of fear, but just like he couldn't stand waiting, like he wanted to dive then and there. For a moment Rin was worried he would dive too early, get disqualified, but he managed to hold out until the starting buzzer.  
“Man” Rin heard softly, and wondered if it was his own voice.  
There was no competition. Not in Rin's book, at least. He didn't throw himself out in front and take a massive lead, but he didn't let anyone else pull ahead either. Even with a record holder in the next lane, he didn't seem to care. Every stroke was calm and peaceful, as if he weren't in a hurry at all.  
And he had all the time in the world.  
Maybe that was why he could swim two hundreds, when it came down to it. Everyone else was itching to finish, trying to get to the end, but Haru didn't want to stop. Maybe he should have been a long distance swimmer, so he could go on forever.  
In the final stretch people started to push harder, but Haru didn't even seem to put in any more effort than before, although he still maintained his place near the front. He was second to touch the wall, by a fraction of a hair, but while the winner climbed out gasping for air, Haru looked perfectly composed.  
“Was he even trying?” one of the girls asked in disbelief. “Did he not want to win?”  
“It doesn't really matter” Rin mumbled, parroting the words he'd heard so many times “as long as you make it to the finals”  
“Well he did that” someone laughed, but again Rin was too occupied to turn and look. “He'll breeze through semi-finals too if he can pull that time again”  
“He'll do better” Rin mumbled, eyeing the board before the list flashed away “he's just warming up”

Haru grumbled as Rin dragged him away, but there was no real conviction behind any of it.   
“I'm not hungry”  
“Good, neither am I”  
He seemed confused now when Rin grinned at him, but cracked a smile when he saw where Rin was going.  
“Really?”  
“I need to be in the water, and the real pools are taken”  
It was shallow, far too shallow to actually swim, but right now Rin was happy to just lie back and float. Haru sat down next to him, flicking water at him and watching him pull faces.  
“It's weird being here without actually swimming” Rin told him “It made me itch to be in the water”  
“I'm rubbing off on you too much”  
“You really are. I never want to get out at the end of training anymore”  
He cracked one eye open and Haru smirked at him, closing it again just in time to avoid Haru's splashes.  
“Your friend got through, right?”  
“Yeah”  
“I didn't bother looking at the list”  
“So I have to be the one to break the news that you didn't get through?”  
“I'm not an idiot”  
“It was worth a try”  
He grabbed Haru's hand and dragged him down in the water, their arms brushing together as they lay side by side. If he moved too much Rin knew he would end up touching the bottom of the pool, so he did his best to stay still as he relaxed.  
“We should go”  
“Why? I'm comfortable here”  
“The last race is finishing, people will start going past soon”  
“Does that matter?”  
“It does to me”  
Rin cringed a little but obediently sat up, glancing at Haru's solemn face.  
“Okay, sorry” Rin smiled faintly “Are you sure you're not hungry?”  
“Maybe a little”  
“Do you want to get something here or go home for an hour?”  
Haru cringed a little, but Rin wasn't quite sure why, so he just waited patiently.  
“Fish would be good. And eggs.”  
“Come on then. I'll even cook for you while you rest”  
“Okay”  
Haru dried himself off briefly then threw his towel at Rin as he pulled his tracksuit back on, and Rin watched him fondly as he adjusted his jacket.  
“It looks good on you” he announced, when Haru gave him a questioning look. “You look very professional”  
“Shut up”  
He smirked as he pulled his own gear on, then waved for Haru to follow him.

Rin shoved him lightly toward the bed and Haru gave him a confused look, watching him over his shoulder.   
“Lie down”  
“I have to go back soon”  
“I know”  
With a sigh he obediently dropped onto the bed, and Rin rolled him onto his stomach. He ducked his face into the pillow when it burned red, with Rin's knees straddling his hips, and a little moan escaped him when Rin's hands ran along his spine.  
“Shh” Rin chuckled, when he started to apologise “Just relax”  
“I'm starting to think you enjoy this”  
“Don't you?”  
“Yeah”  
“Then it doesn't matter”  
He smiled slightly and let himself soften a little, enjoying the feel of Rin's strong hands on his muscles.   
“You looked good this morning” Rin told him, planting a little kiss between his shoulder blades “really good”  
“Thanks”  
“Did it feel good?”  
“No, we all sucked”  
“What are you talking about?” Rin laughed  
“I was nearly three seconds from the record”  
“Only in your heat, your semi-final was a lot closer”  
“Not close enough”  
“Do you really care about records suddenly?”  
“Maybe”  
Rin gave up nagging, returning to silently massaging his tight muscles, amused when Haru let out a long sigh.  
“I'll be watching you” he murmured as he kissed Haru's neck “I'll watch you set a new record in your final”  
“And if I don't?”  
“Then we'll be sad, but at least you'll have a gold medal”  
“And if I don't have that?”  
“Then don't bother coming home”  
“Okay”  
Rin dropped a little lower to pin him in place, then grinned as his fingers ran down to Haru's sides, making him squirm before he'd even actually done anything.   
“Stop it” Haru whined, as soon as Rin started to tickle him. “Don't!”  
“You're so cute” Rin laughed, but stopped obediently. “It's impossible to resist”  
“I should know better by now”  
“You probably should”  
He managed to shove Rin off enough to roll over, to see the cheeky grin shining down at him.  
“Rin?”  
“Yeah?”  
“I need to go back before they start complaining”  
“Right, yeah”  
He climbed off and let Haru grab his jacket again, taking the chance to eye his stomach muscles before he zipped it up.  
“Win for me” Rin told him firmly.  
“Sorry, this medal is for someone else” he mumbled, glancing at his phone screen. “You can play with Saturday's one”  
“What, the silver one?”  
Haru scoffed, but didn't bother to argue, just slipped his phone back into his gear bag.  
“I'd better go”  
“Don't be silly, I'm coming with you”  
“Okay”

Haru could see a glimpse of red hair in the crowd as he stood on the platform, politely thanking the man who handed out the medals and obediently holding it up to the cameras. He knew he didn't look happy enough, but he was too tired to care, even though he was glad to have won. He finally let his eyes wander and found Rin practically bursting with excitement and pride, waiting to grab him as soon as he was within reach.  
That made it a little easier to smile.  
The Australian man next to him threw an arm across his shoulders, waving for the silver medalist to join them, and Haru actually managed a laugh as the cameras flashed at them.  
“Good job, mate” he grinned “you're tough competition”  
“So are you” Haru smiled back, then turned to the American on his other side “and you, you made me nervous”  
“That's a big feat” the Australian grinned “Haru doesn't get nervous for anybody”  
“Good job, man” he smiled, shaking hands with both of them “I'll catch you in the next one”  
“Looking forward to it”  
They made their way slowly down the stairs, and Haru nudged up a little closer to the man.  
“Do you think you can distract Rin for maybe ten minutes?”  
“I'll keep him busy until the media attention dies down” he agreed knowingly “good racing you man, I'll have you next time”  
“I look forward to it”  
To Haru's relief Rin was diverted away right as the cameras and microphones began to show up, his coach at one side, the managers shamelessly standing at the other.  
“Mister Nanase, do you have anything to say?”  
“Ah... Thank you, everyone who is watching. I am... glad to be here”  
He almost snickered when they pointed the microphone at his coach, who looked like a deer in headlights.  
“They want to know if you're proud of me” Haru smiled wryly “Just say no and let's go”  
“I am very proud” he said firmly “Thank you”  
They moved away and Haru stuffed his hands in his pockets, refusing to look at the rest of the staff who suddenly wanted to take credit. He took the medal from around his neck and offered it to his coach, who looked confused.  
“This is to thank you for letting me come to Australia”  
“I appreciate the sentiment, but I'll let you keep it” he laughed “I'm glad it didn't come back to bite me”  
“I wouldn't have asked if I thought it would make me lose”  
“I know”  
“Thank you” he said again, as he pulled the medal back around his neck “I've learned a lot about myself, here. I guess it's made me want to work harder”  
“The most important thing right now is to rest up, Haruka. I know you have a day off, but you'll need your energy for the last two days”  
“I know. I'm going to eat a pie and go to bed”  
“Pie?”  
“You should try one, they're good”  
He shot a last little wave at them and walked out with his head high, hearing the cameras clicking around him as he walked. He was halfway back to the apartment by the time Rin got free and came sprinting after him, breathless as he threw his arms around Haru's waist.   
“You were brilliant”  
“Not really”  
“Seriously, it's like... Everyone else is swimming hard and trying to struggle to the end, and you just swim. You just do it”  
“Yeah”  
“And so modest”  
He cracked a little smile and Rin beamed at it, poking his cheeks teasingly.  
“I saw you up there, with your big grin. You can't lie to me, you were totally proud”  
“Sure”  
“And beat the old record holder”  
“But not his record”  
“Well no, but that's not the point”  
“One day my name will be the one to beat”  
“Trust me Haru, I have no doubt in my mind about that. I'm surprised it's not already”  
“Maybe tomorrow”  
“You don't race tomorrow”  
“I was thinking about giving butterfly a try, what better time than when there's no competition?”  
“Big words, buddy” Rin laughed, pulling his hair “if you're gonna talk like that I'll make you learn”  
“Fine, I could do with some more of your medals”  
“Someone is full of himself tonight!”  
“You told me I was too modest”  
“Clearly I was wrong!”  
“I want a pie”  
“What?”  
“For dinner. I want a pie”  
“I'm sure I can handle that, let's stop at the convenience store and get some”  
“Okay”  
“My treat”  
“Thank you”  
He tucked his medal away in his pocket as they got closer, despite Rin's whines, and watched as Rin collected and paid for a bag of stuff. As soon as they got back to the apartment he tore the duvet from the bed, and Haru smiled softly as he bundled them up in it.  
“Here” Rin handed him two little plastic packages “Pies. Don't tell your coach”  
“He won't mind”  
There were drinks inside too, and Haru cut him off when he opened his mouth to start the lecture.  
“I know, thank you”  
“I'll rub your back again before bed if you like, no tickling this time.”  
“Okay”  
“And you can have lots of proud-boyfriend bedtime-cuddles”  
“Okay”  
“Am I getting too over-excited?”  
“A little”  
“Sorry, I'm just so damn proud of you”  
“Thank you”  
Haru leaned into him with a smile as he opened his first pie, and Rin was happy to see the satisfaction in his face as he settled.  
“You never stop amazing me” Rin murmured, as he kissed Haru's temple “every time I think I've got it all figured out”  
“You didn't think I'd win?”  
“Everyone thought you'd win, we just didn't think you'd do it so effortlessly”  
“I was working really hard”  
“But you don't look that way in the pool, you look so relaxed”  
“I like to swim”  
“Really? I wouldn't have guessed”  
Haru smiled again as Rin laughed, winding one arm around his shoulders as he grabbed his own dinner with the other. It was dark out, and Rin knew as soon as the adrenaline wore off they would both crash hard, but for now he just wanted to savour their sweet, cuddly moment to celebrate his victory.  
“Just so you know, you don't get special treatment for silver”  
“Silver goes straight in the trash”  
“A man after my own heart”  
“Goes for you, too. Don't go bringing back any silver. Or worse, bronze”  
“I won't let that happen”


	12. Day 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The competition continues

“Rin?” Haru asked, poking him lightly in the chest “Riiiin”  
Rin pulled a face and grumbled, but didn't open his eyes. Considering he'd had the day before off, Haru was a little offended that he was the one sleeping late.  
“Rin” he said again, leaning in this time and kissing him lightly. “Good morning”  
“Ugh. What time is it?”  
“Uh... You don't want to know”  
“Is it even daylight?”  
“Yeah”  
“What happened to my alarm?”  
“I don't know, it didn't go off”  
“Ugh” he grunted again, finally opening his eyes “Morning”  
“Morning” Haru smiled faintly “Breakfast is ready”  
“You got up and made food and came back to bed all without waking me up?”  
“Yeah”  
“Sorry” he grimaced “I took forever to fall asleep last night”  
“Probably because you didn't do anything. Go eat”  
“You're in a hurry to get me out of here” he frowned. “What's going on?”  
“Well... It's eight thirty”  
“It's what?!”  
“Shhhh” Haru grabbed his hand as he leapt up, shaking his head “Your bag is at the door, all you have to do is eat and brush your teeth”  
“Have you been sneaking around all morning getting me ready instead of waking me up?”  
“Uh-huh”  
“Why?”  
“Because you have to race today, I don't want you to be tired for it”  
“And here I woke you up by six yesterday, now I feel like a jerk”  
“But you let me go back to sleep”  
“That's true. Okay, food”  
Haru watched as he wandered out to the kitchen, still yawning, in his boxer shorts and bare chest. He didn't seem to have any qualms about hanging out in his underwear as Haru followed him, in fact Haru wasn't entirely sure he'd even noticed.  
“Are you nervous?”  
“A little. It's fine, it makes me work harder”  
“You don't want to relax when you swim?”  
“You're the only one who can relax in a race, Haru.” He smiled faintly, “if I'm not nervous I'll get complacent, and then I won't work as hard”  
“What do you swim for? Medals?”  
“If you want to be that transparent about it, sure. I mean, I enjoy what I do, regardless of nerves, if that's what you're asking. I'm not here freaking out trying to be the best just because that's what I'm supposed to do”  
“Not because of your Dad?”  
“Not really, no” Rin frowned slightly “I mean, it helps, but it's not the only reason”  
“What would you do if you didn't want to compete anymore?”  
“I don't know. Study something? Get a cool job? I'll cross that bridge when I come to it”  
“What if you stop winning? Will you still compete?”  
“If they'll still have me, sure. What's with the third degree?”  
Haru shrugged, glancing at the time as Rin ate, then offered him an awkward smile.  
“You might want to eat faster, unless you want to tell your coach you'll be late”  
“What time is it?”  
“Twenty to”  
“Damn it” Rin muttered, scoffing the rest of his breakfast “brush teeth, find clothes”  
“Everything is on your nightstand”  
“You're the best”  
Haru leaned against the wall to wait as Rin threw on his gear, ready to walk out the door as soon as Rin was ready. He already had Rin's bag slung over one shoulder, so when Rin started to glance around the room he just pointed at it, and got a relieved smile in return.  
“Okay, let's go”  
“I'll race you”  
“Really?”  
“As soon as we're out the lobby door”  
“You're on”  
It was nice to see Rin looking a bit more energetic, considering his slow start, and Haru made sure to push him as they ran, breaking into a sprint just to make Rin put some effort into it. The clock was dead on nine when they arrived, and Haru handed the bag over as he made for the grandstands.  
“Are you not hanging out down here?”  
“I'd better not”  
“Why? You can sit with my team”  
“That'll look kind of bad. Don't worry, I'll be judging you from the bleachers”  
“Well... Alright, okay. Get a good seat”  
“I will. I promise”  
He didn't want to say the words to Rin and make him more nervous, but he'd seen the text on his phone early this morning. As soon as he'd read it he deleted it – he knew how stressed out Rin had been even the night before, and this wouldn't help. It didn't take him long to find them though, as Lori waved, and he nodded as he joined them in the front row of seats.  
“We wondered where you'd got to”  
“Rin slept in” Haru offered “I had to wake him”  
“That's not like him”  
“No, he didn't sleep well. Ah... He was worried, I guess”  
“Poor thing. Is he doing okay now?”  
“I think so”  
“When do you swim? Today?”  
“Yesterday and tomorrow, today is my... my day off”  
“We missed you yesterday? Oh no! How was it?”  
“It was good” he smiled wryly “I did well”  
“Did you place?”  
“Yes”  
“Good job, Haru! That's fantastic!”  
“Only two more golds left to take. One from Rin”  
“I'm sure it'll be a great match to watch”  
“I hope so”  
He wondered if he should tell them all the things he'd been thinking about, ask them all the questions he couldn't ask Rin. They seemed so typically parental, the type of people who would have been at every school event, every race, celebrated every birthday. Not like his own, who he felt like he barely knew.  
“Can I... ask a question?”  
“Of course, Haru” Russell nodded “is everything okay?”  
“When did Rin start saying 'home'?”  
“Home?”  
“When he talks about Australia”  
“I'm not sure. Sorry. I know he called Japan home for a long time, so not very long. Maybe when he got his apartment?”  
“Thank you”  
“Is this his event?”  
“Yes, but not his turn” Haru told them, glancing at the note on his phone. “Ah... Number three”  
“I'm not sure I can watch” Lori laughed, miming covering her eyes “I'm more nervous than he is”  
“Sometimes you need... a person. A person who can be worried, instead”  
“Well Lori can certainly be worried for Rin” Russell laughed “We'll be worried for you tomorrow, if you like”  
“Thank you” he laughed, surprising even himself with how genuinely it came out “I would like that”

Rin had to resist the urge to look around when he got up on the blocks. He knew where his coach was, where all his teammates were, but there was one face he couldn't find still. He knew he would be there, there was no way he'd left, even for a moment. He would know exactly what time Rin was stepping up, he would be prepared long before the posted time.   
“Watch me, Haru” he mumbled to himself, as he tugged at the back of his goggles and adjusted his cap “don't you dare look away”  
He didn't even notice they'd signaled to get ready, but his feet moved of their own accord when the buzzer sounded. The lane before him was crystal clear, the sparkling water just waiting for him, begging for him to disturb the perfect surface.  
He heard the sound this time and he launched himself into the pool, thinking about every kick, every stroke, until his mind shut off and he fell into a rhythm.  
Faster. Stronger.   
He had to get that medal. Haru had already claimed one, and if he lost this one, Haru was practically guaranteed to get more than him. He couldn't have that, Haru would never let it go. He would hang his medals above the bed and polish them every day, just to remind Rin of his failures.   
His turn was good, that was important.   
He didn't dare to look at the other lanes, kept his eyes trained straight ahead. It would all be over soon, he would be horrified if the whole thing took him more than a minute. Sub-fifty would be great, but that was unlikely too. What was the world record? Fifty-one? So he'd take fifty-two, if he had to. Fifty-one point something would be better.  
His hands stretched out and touched the wall, and he gasped for air as he turned to look at the screen, pulling his goggles up to improve his view.  
Not good enough. Nowhere near good enough. Whole seconds from what he wanted.  
He grimaced as he climbed out of the pool, nodding to his coach from a distance, and sighed to himself.  
“You're still on the board” one of his teammates announced, as he collapsed on a bench and grabbed his water bottle “you could still make the next round”  
“And swim like that again?”  
“No, swim better next time” he laughed “we've seen you do better, that was just your warm up”  
“I hope so” he sighed, pouring water down his throat “cross your fingers for me”

Haru could see Rin twitching as he waited for the results. He knew it was going to be close, with Rin's time.  
“Is he going through?” Lori asked, practically reading Haru's mind. “Was he fast enough?”  
“I'm not sure” Haru mumbled, staring at the blank screen. “Maybe not”  
The list of names came up and Haru looked straight to the bottom, not bothering with the people in the first few positions. There it was, Rin Matsuoka. Second to last to qualify, but a qualification none the less.  
A surprisingly large weight burned a hole in Haru's pocket, and he fingered it nervously as he looked down at Rin, at his teammates celebrating for him.   
Fear?  
That was all Haru could read in his face, some twisted emotion that could only be described as fear.  
“I'll be back” Haru mumbled, shuffling his way down to the barriers.  
He weaved his way through a small crowd who had gathered to watch, considering his next move. Thankfully luck was on his side, and one of Rin's teammates saw him coming, shot him a wave. He nudged Rin lightly and nodded his way, and by the time Haru got around to them and crouched at the edge of the stands, Rin was already waiting at the bottom.  
“Do you want to borrow mine?” Haru asked, dangling the shiny medal in front of his face “since apparently you can't do it yourself”  
“Shut up”  
“Russell and Lori are here too, you know? Aren't you going to prove to them why they took care of you for so many years?”  
“Quit it, Haru, it's not funny”  
“No, it's not” Haru frowned “you get better times than that in practice every single morning. What's gotten into you?”  
“I don't know”  
“You don't need to be nervous, Lori said she would do it for you”  
“I didn't know they were here”  
“I wasn't sure I should tell you, thought it might be worse”  
“Yeah, maybe. I don't think it matters now.”  
“I know. Here, take it” he pressed the medal into Rin's hands and smirked at him “at least you can hold them and look pretty for me, when I run out of hands to carry my own”  
“You're the worst” Rin said softly, his fingers clasping the metal a little tighter “Did you bring this today just to torment me?”  
“I thought you might need motivation”  
“You'll be watching me?”  
“Why would I ever take my eyes off you? Be better this time, I want to match”  
Rin smiled slightly and started to hand it back, but Haru shook his head.  
“I told you” he smirked “hold it for me until you prove you can get your own”  
“Come back in about twenty minutes so I can throw it in your face”  
“You have hours before finals” Haru reminded him “I don't want it back until you have one to match”  
He walked away before Rin could protest, and Lori gave him a concerned look when he sat back down with them in the stands.  
“Is he okay? He's not sick, is he?”  
“No, he's fine. I told him you would take his worries for him.”  
“Is that your medal he's holding?”  
“Yeah. I told him if he could not win his own he may as well look at mine”  
Lori looked horrified for a moment, but Russell burst out laughing, reaching over to pat Haru on the back.  
“That'll light a fire under him alright, good job Haru”  
Lori relaxed when she saw Haru smile a little, and eventually conceded a nod.  
“It's not nice, but it might work”  
“It will” Haru assured her “Just watch”

Rin whipped around as soon as his hands touched, tearing off his cap and goggles and pushing dripping hair back out of his eyes.  
“Damn it, where's my name?”  
There.  
Rin almost looked away when he started to scan across to the time, clenching his fists, but he forced himself to look, for better or for worse.  
Fifty-two forty-six.  
Fifty-two?  
Really?  
He turned around to look at his grinning coach and cheering teammates, staring at them in disbelief for a moment before he started to laugh, hauling himself out of the water.  
“That'll do it, mate” his coach laughed, patting him on the shoulder “Whatever you did right there, do it again for the final, and you might just walk away with a medal”  
A medal. That's right.  
Haru's gold was sitting on top of his bag, laughing at him, and he picked it up to inspect briefly as he dug for his tracksuit.  
It was definitely shiny, Haru had probably cleaned it incessantly just for this purpose. The lights glinted off its surface, reflecting back into his eyes, and he scowled as he dropped it back into his bag.  
“I'll show him who can look pretty” he muttered, draining his water bottle “jerk won't know what hit him”

“Rin!”  
He grinned as he turned around, just in time for Lori to grab him in a hug.   
“I'm so happy you came” he laughed “thank you”  
“We wouldn't miss it”  
“You looked rough out there for a minute, everything okay?” Russell asked, trying to hide his concern.  
“Yeah” he laughed “I'm fine. Heat times don't matter as long as you get through, right? This afternoon is all that really matters”  
Haru was smiling wryly behind them at the words, but he kept his mouth shut, much to Rin's relief. He pulled the medal from his bag when Lori let him go, offering it to Haru, who waved it off like it didn't matter at all.  
“I told you” he shrugged “I don't want it back until you get your own”  
“I know”  
With a little smirk Haru took it back, shoving it in the pocket right below his favourite cartoon shark. Everyone else was in their team tracksuits regardless of whether they were competing, hanging out with their teammates, but as usual Haru didn't want to be normal. Rin wasn't sure people would even recognise him, if they walked past him in the hall. With pants and baggy sleeves on it wasn't especially obvious how well built he was, and he was quiet enough that he just kind of blended in with the crowd. It annoyed Rin a little, for some reason. He wanted nothing more than to march Haru around with his medal out and see every eye turn their way, see everyone whisper about his performance and his technique. Haru would never go for it though, so he'd had to settle for showering him with praise when they were alone, for hooking the medal back around his neck and holding it tight in his grasp as they kissed.   
“Rin?”  
“Huh? Yeah?”  
Haru was watching him curiously, and he knew he'd been lost in thought, had missed the better part of a conversation between them all.  
“Are you hungry?”  
“Starving”  
“Okay”  
He quickly gathered that Russell and Lori had asked to take them out for lunch, and he shot a quick wave to his teammates to let them know he was disappearing, that he'd be back in plenty of time.   
“What are you going to do different?” Haru asked, as they sat down at a table “How are you going to be better?”  
“I had a fifty-two in that semi, why do I need to do anything better?”  
“There are two people who swim fifty-ones or better”  
“I'll be fine”  
“You have to, you promised”  
Lori looked a little concerned at their bickering, even though Russell was laughing at them both, but when Rin cracked a little smile she softened considerably.  
“I'll work hard, I promise” Rin assured them “I can do it”  
“We have faith in you” Russell grinned “you know that”  
“Maybe” Haru scoffed “we'll see”

If Rin had thought for even a moment that Haru might cheer for him, he'd been sadly mistaken. He could hear the voices of his teammates off to one side, of Lori and Russell behind him in the stands, of his coach speaking calmly at his side, but definitely no Haru.  
“Fifty-one” he told the coach, as he handed over his jacket “I promise”  
“Don't think about times, just do the absolutely best you can do right now”  
“It's fine, I'm not freaking out” Rin shrugged “I've got this”  
“Okay”   
“I have a question, though”  
“Yeah?”  
“Is he there? Behind me?”  
He wasn't willing to look back for himself, wasn't prepared to see an empty space.  
“Yeah,” his coach smiled. “He's right there, with a perfect view of your lane”  
“Good”  
He tore his eyes from the water and exchanged a little smile with his coach, shooting him a thumbs up.  
“This one is for him, sorry. You can have tomorrow's gold”  
“Swim them all for whoever you want, I'll be happy as long as you're working hard”  
“I know, thanks”  
“Now get that medal”  
“Yes Sir”  
He hated himself a little for the comfort it brought him, knowing that Haru was there. The number of people he had there to support him, to cheer him on, and yet he cared about just one. He was a terrible person, and he'd apologise for it later, but right now he figured the best way to satisfy all of them was to be the first one out of that pool.   
It was strange, really, that that was the aim. Be the first one to finish doing something they supposedly all loved to do. He'd thought about it just yesterday, as he watched Haru swim, and now the same thought was stuck in his head.  
The first buzzer sounded, and he stepped up, checked his cap and goggles, loaded himself into place. It wasn't the time to think about those things and get distracted. It wasn't the time to look at the people around him who held records – national records, event records, even world records. Right now all that mattered was that he got into that damn water.  
How good that buzzer sounded, the noise that gave him permission to jump, to fly, to dive. It felt good. So good. It was the best damn feeling in the world. This was why he was here, this was what he lived for, this minute where everything came together.  
Minute.  
Haru would lecture him for rounding it up, if he said it aloud. Would tell him a minute was a ridiculous thing to even consider suggesting. That he was setting himself up for failure.  
He turned without even thinking about it, and his legs kicked harder, his arms stretched longer, his eyes glued to his lane as he threw himself toward the finish, toward the blocks, toward his coach and his teammates and-  
He threw himself over the side, whirling around to see the screen high above them, and every ounce of tension seeped out of him as he saw his name, his beautiful damn name at the top of the board, beside the most incredible damn word in the whole damn world.  
People were cheering and screaming, and it took far too long for him to realise it was for him. Those voices erupting around him were his. His people.  
“No record” Haru pointed out, when he approached the stands. “Disappointing”  
“Shut the hell up” Rin folded his arms, but couldn't get rid of his smile “I appreciate the support”  
He shrugged, and Rin shook his head fondly, giving the three of them a quick wave before he returned to his team and his coach.  
“We were worried about you this morning, but you really came through”  
“Good job Rin, that was fantastic”  
“You're awesome man, good job”  
He laughed and thanked them all, accepted their handshakes and hugs and pats on the back, but Haru's damn words had become stuck in his head.  
“Not a record” Rin said softly, when the coach offered him a hand “Sorry”  
“Like we care” he scoffed, as they shook hands firmly “I'm proud of you, Rin. Fine work out there”  
“Thank you”  
“Dry off and suit up, the ceremony will start soon”  
He nodded his acknowledgement and accepted the jacket from his coach's arm, pulling it on before he headed for his bag to grab his towel and his pants. 

Haru didn't say a word as they walked back to the apartment, and Rin was growing antsy as he waited, waited and waited for so much as a 'good job' or even a 'you didn't suck'.  
“Okay, seriously.” He finally broke, as he watched Haru pull his shoes off, “you're not going to say anything?”  
“Like what?”  
“Well done? Congratulations? Good job?”  
“All those things sound like I expected you to lose”  
“Give me something! A hug?”  
Haru smiled wryly as he picked up the medal, inspecting it in his pale hand for a moment before he touched it lightly to his lips, and Rin stared at him silently.  
“You did exactly what I expected you to do” Haru told him, finally winding his arms around Rin's waist “I hope you like it, it's the only one you'll be getting”  
“You are seriously the worst boyfriend ever” Rin sulked “I was so nice to you when you got yours, and here you are, acting like a total jerk”  
“Yeah, I'm a jerk”  
Rin grumbled, ditching his shoes and heading to the bathroom to change, freezing when he flicked on the light. Haru smirked to himself at Rin's silence, waiting for a moment before he glanced around the corner.  
“Better?”  
“You...”   
Rin's fingers reached out and touched the glass, the big letters in black marker.   
“You're the worst” Rin laughed, wiping stubborn tears from his eyes “Seriously”  
“It's okay, it comes off, I checked”  
“That's not what I'm talking about, shut up. When did you do this?”  
Rin had managed to position himself perfectly, unknowingly, for the arrow to almost touch the reflection of his medal. Haru joined him now, with his little conceited smirk, and pointed at his careful handwriting.  
“Look again” he said, as he leaned his head on Rin's shoulder “read it again”  
“Proud of you” he read again, with a little smile “I get it, I'm a jerk. Thank you”  
“Again. You still didn't get it”  
“What? I- Oh.” he froze, looking down at Haru's amused eyes “you wrote in English”  
“Yeah”  
“How long did that take?”  
“Not long, I asked Lori to show me”  
“When did you do this?”  
“A few hours ago. When you were warming up”  
“Before I'd raced?”  
“Yeah”  
“Really?”  
“I told you, I knew you'd win”  
“What if I hadn't?”  
“That was never going to happen”  
He turned around, but Haru beat him to the punch, folding his arms around Rin's neck and kissing him with warm, soft lips, one hand winding into his hair.  
“Damn it Haru,” Rin mumbled when they parted, “I'm sorry for calling you a jerk”  
“It's fine. Give me your suit, I'll rinse it while you get warm”  
He turned around as Rin stripped, holding out a hand as Rin laughed at him and handed over his jammer, and cracked his own smile as he started the shower running to rinse them out.   
Rin bundled himself up in an old hoodie and sweatpants, running a hand through messy chlorine-filled hair as he headed to the kitchen for a drink, and froze again when he opened the fridge door.  
“Seriously?” He called out, as he picked up the sticky note “Now you're making me feel bad”  
He heard Haru's chuckle from the next room as he pulled out the box, finding all his favourite snacks and foods waiting for him. As Haru returned he stuck the 'you were great' note to the front of the fridge, amused by the little smirk waiting for him when he turned around.  
“Okay, I get it, you're cute”  
“I don't know what this one says, but she told me to write it anyway”  
He handed over another little piece of paper, and Rin was almost scared to flip it over.  
'You are the best boyfriend in the world'  
“You know exactly what this says, you little prick” Rin laughed, hugging him tightly “You're adorable, thank you”  
“I had to come up with something, I knew you'd complain if I didn't”  
“Shut up”

Rin yawned as he slid into bed, reaching out an arm for Haru to curl into, and the man didn't disappoint. He smiled softly as he pressed his cheek over Rin's heart, listening to the steady beat, and Rin was content to just watch him, to see the peaceful look wash over him.  
“Rin?”  
“Yeah?”  
“Sleep better tonight, okay? I want you to be perfect tomorrow. No excuses”  
“I'll try”  
“Can I do anything to help?”  
“No, it's okay. This is nice”  
“Okay” he snuggled in a little closer, and Rin obediently held him a little tighter to match “Night Rin”  
Considering he hadn't competed at all, Haru fell asleep surprisingly fast. There were no worries about the next day, no shaky nerves, no mumbled complaints. Just comfort and warmth and sleep.  
Rin took a lot longer, despite his fatigue from the day. He was determined to win, to beat Haru where it counted, but at the same time he felt a hint of guilt for even thinking about it, for wanting his sweet, innocent little boyfriend to come in second – or worse. He knew Haru wouldn't be thinking about it at all, it wouldn't be sneaking into his dreams or winding through his brain. If Rin brought it up, he would say 'it doesn't really matter' or 'I don't care', as long as it was one of them. If anyone was going to beat him, he would want it to be Rin. He wouldn't sulk if he lost, like Rin would be inclined to do. He wanted so badly to be able to tell himself he would be happy for the boy, he would be as excited and enthusiastic as he was yesterday, but he wasn't a good enough liar to convince himself.   
So that meant he had to win. Haru would take a loss far better than he would. He had to be perfect, like Haru had told him. A flawless victory.  
He shoved the thoughts aside and leaned his cheek on dark hair, breathing in the clean smell of soap and lingering chlorine, and did his best to relax.


	13. Day 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the event they've all been waiting for, time for Rin and Haru to face off for real.

There was something weird going on with Haru, some kind of nerves or worries or concerns – or maybe he wasn't feeling well? Whatever it was, he was not himself – not even close to himself. He was up early, milling around the apartment when Rin woke up, leaving him frantic for a moment to not have anyone next to him. He didn't know how he would cope if Haru went back to Japan, how he would manage waking up every morning in a panic, before he remembered.  
“Morning” Rin offered, trying his best to act normal “Do you want to run?”  
“Yeah”  
“Okay, come on then”  
Haru pulled his shoes on and followed, to where the sun was coming up and the breeze was light. It was going to be another hot one. Rin didn't bother to try and talk as they took their usual route, since he knew Haru wouldn't answer him, and instead he just tried to enjoy the nice morning, the good company, the peace and quiet that left them in their respective thoughts.  
Wallowing in them, Rin corrected himself. Wallowing in his thoughts.  
He considered taking Haru's hand, but decided to wait until they were behind closed doors again. Then he considered challenging him to a race, but that seemed a little too close to home. In the end they made their loop in silence, both breathing hard as they waited for their elevator, barely even looking at each other as they kicked off their shoes and took turns in the bathroom.  
Rin left to put his gear on and pack his bag, and came back to Haru cooking at the stove. He didn't say anything still, but brushed a hand lightly over the back of his hoodie as he walked by, and smiled to himself when he saw the notes still stuck to the fridge.   
Two water bottles, one beside each gear bag in the hall. Four towels, two in each bag. Plastic grocery bags for wet gear, one in each bag. He checked the things off on his mental list, then smiled faintly to himself as he threw a little keyring of hairties into the side pocket of Haru's – he'd remembered eventually, even if Haru hadn't brought it up again. Haru's gear was long since rinsed and dried, already packed for later, but Rin made sure to get his own things from the day before.   
Snacks were next, little baggies from the fridge and pantry, although Haru never seemed to go through many. He preferred to wait until Rin reminded him he was starving, which was a lot harder than usual this week. By the time he was done, Haru was pretty much finished cooking, and they sat down to eat their breakfast together in silence. Rin was relieved to see that Haru still sat at his side, despite being off-colour, which meant it wasn't something he'd done wrong. He was tempted to reach out, to hug him or kiss him, but somehow it just felt wrong.  
“I'm ready when you are” he said softly, when Haru left to change. “Bags are done”  
“Okay”  
Haru's medal was still sitting on the counter where he'd left it, and Rin nabbed it now while he wasn't there to see. His own came out of his tracksuit pocket to join it, and he proudly hung the pair of them together over a cupboard door handle where he could see them when he cooked.  
“Done” Haru mumbled, picking up his bag “Let's go”  
“Coming”  
He grinned again at the matching set of gold, throwing his own bag over his shoulder and hurrying to join Haru in the hallway.

Rin was in the pool, swimming for his life, focused on nothing but the water. It was good to see, although Haru felt a little guilty for being so distracted in comparison. He'd managed to sleep well the night before, somehow, although he'd woken incredibly early and failed to fall asleep again. Even though he felt a little guilty about it, he'd slid out of Rin's grasp and wandered around the apartment for a while, examining both their shiny medals, staring at the painting Rin had somehow found time to hang, watching the sun come up through the sliding glass door. He knew what he wanted, that was the simple part. Whether it was a good idea, how to go about getting it, and what other people – namely Rin – would think of it was a whole different kettle of fish.   
But he was here now, that was what counted. Rin was swimming well, not quite as perfectly as he'd promised, as Haru had requested, but enough to easily get through the rounds. Haru had won his heat by a mile. All the interesting swimmers had ended up in other heats, he had somehow managed to pull a whole lot of people whose names he didn't really know, and his result had explained why. Rin's heat had been shortly after his, and he too had blown through it, even with another record holder in the lane to his right. None of them had contested the record, which wasn't unusual for preliminary rounds, but Haru knew that was what they were all aiming for by the end of the day.  
Typically, of course, they had managed to pull different semi-final rounds too. Which was why Rin was climbing out of the pool, gasping for air, and Haru was watching from the bleachers, with his coach at his side.  
“I wanted to talk to you about something” Haru mumbled, without looking over at him. “When no-one else is around, if that's possible”  
“Haruka” he shook his head, and Haru glimpsed a smile before he locked his eyes back on the pool. “You do what you need to do, I'm not going to complain”  
“Are you sure?”  
“I'm sure”  
“Thank you”  
He ditched his tracksuit and they exchanged a knowing look before Haru approached his lane. Lane three, he'd ended up with. Not ideal, but at least he wasn't on an end. The man to his right looked about twice his size, although Haru had gotten used to that feeling, and they nodded briefly at each other as they stepped up to the plate.  
Just one more. One more good time. That was what he needed right now, if all of this was going to work

The Australian coach was standing on his own, for the first time all day, and Haru took the chance to walk up to him, trying his best to look confident and poised while Rin was out of sight.  
“I want to stay here” he said firmly. “Can you do that?”  
The man stared at him for a moment, processing his words, and squinted a little as he considered it.  
“You mean you want to swim here?”  
“Yes. With you. Your team”  
The coach didn't laugh at him or brush him off, in fact he seemed surprisingly receptive to the idea, and for a moment Haru wondered if he'd translated his question wrong. He nodded faintly as he thought about it, and Haru squeezed his hands into fists as he waited for words, any words at all. For the first time he wished he had his medal with him, so he could hold it up pointedly as a reminder, but instead he had to settle for glancing over at the list of times, where Haru's name was just below Rin's, only a fraction of a second between them. There was another name too, just above both of them, but looking at it made Haru mad, so he didn't.  
“I'll tell you what” he said slowly “you show me you can beat Rin in the final, and you've got yourself a deal. But don't go telling him to slack off and let you win, it's gotta be a good, fair race”  
“If I beat Rin well, you'll say yes?”  
“Yes”  
“Okay” Haru smirked “Easy”  
The coach laughed, then clapped him on the shoulder like so many of Rin's teammates did to each other.   
“I'll see you there soon. Make it good”  
“I will”  
He took a deep breath as the man walked away, turning to where his teammates were sitting in their tracksuits, not paying any attention to what Haru was doing. Not far away the Australian team were gathering in the stands, and they waved happily when they saw Haru glance their direction. With a little smile he waved back and took a few steps toward them, giving Rin a pointed look when he turned around.  
“Wish me luck,” Rin said to his friends, jumping to his feet, “everything okay, Haru?”  
Haru spoke softly, barely above a whisper, even though he knew the only risk of being overheard came from the uncaring Japanese team. He'd long since gathered that none of the Australians knew more than two words of Japanese, so he knew he was safe on that count, but still he refused to risk it.  
“If you lose to me, I'm going back to Japan” Haru told him flatly. “No questions, no arguments, no tears, nothing. If you can't even beat me here, then there's no point in me staying. There's no point in me supporting your career over mine. Do you understand me?”  
“H-Haru... You said...”  
“I know what I said. Show me you're worth it.”  
“Haru...”  
“Do you understand me?” he repeated, as they locked eyes. “Do I need to try it in English?”  
“Yes, I understand you”  
“So what are you going to do?”  
“I'm going to make you look like one of the kids Makoto teaches”  
“That's what I like to hear”  
He whirled around and walked away without saying goodbye, slowing his pace a little as he passed the Australian coach on the way to his lane.  
“Don't bother watching Rin,” he said softly, “keep your eyes on me.”  
The determination between the pair was intense as they locked eyes from the starting blocks, Rin snapping the back of his goggles into place.  
“You better swim the race of your life” Haru muttered to himself, as he adjusted his cap “don't let me down now, of all times, Rin”

Haru couldn't even find the scoreboard when he tore off his goggles, whirling around in the water as he tried to spot it. Finally, way up high, in little orange letters.   
Haruka Nanase – Gold.   
He pulled off his cap and threw it up on the side of the pool with his goggles, staring again at the board to reassure himself. There were letters beside his time, and it took him far too long to understand.  
“Oh” he said softly “Record”  
Rin Matsuoka – Silver.  
He was happy to see his friend's name up there too, to know he'd had the race of his life just like Haru wanted. In fact, he was pretty sure the record would have been Rin's, had he not been ahead by the tiniest fraction of a second. It was satisfying to know, since neither of them had been seeded first. When he looked over at Rin's lane he was shaking, staring at the board so Haru couldn't see his face, but visibly trembling. Haru made his way out of the pool and held out a hand, waiting for Rin to turn and see him. When he did, Haru understood the cause, watching the tears stream down Rin's face.   
“What are you crying about?” Haru frowned, “you were fantastic.”  
“But- You- You said- Now you're-”  
“Come on” he sighed, gesturing with his hand again “aren't you usually the one dragging me out of the pool?”  
He finally accepted the hand and Haru hauled him up over the edge.  
“Good job, Rin. You gave me exactly what I needed”  
“But now...”  
The coach was approaching them, looking immediately confused by Rin's tears, and Haru wondered if maybe Rin hadn't been such a crybaby since he'd been here, if maybe he was the one bringing that out.  
“I'm sorry” Rin choked out “I did my best”  
“You were brilliant, Rin, you should be proud of yourself. That's the best time I've ever seen you post”  
“But not good enough”  
“Are you really crying over a silver medal?”  
“It's not that” he sniffled, wiping his eyes pointlessly with an equally damp hand “sorry, coach. I just- Haru was going to stay. In Australia, I mean. If I won. And- And now-”  
The coach turned to Haru, of all people, for clarification, and he took a deep breath as he tried to remember all the English he'd been practicing.  
“I told Rin if he lost to me I would leave” he said firmly, already considering his next sentence. “So he would... He would go hard”  
The coach laughed brightly, and Rin was stunned out of his tears as he looked between them, confused beyond belief.   
“I'll start sorting out your paperwork, kid.” He grinned, clapping Haru on the shoulder. “You can go explain to your old coach”  
“I didn't get that” Haru said, as the man walked away. “What did he say?”  
“Go talk to your... your old coach. He's going to... get paperwork? Haru, what did I miss here?”  
“Ah... He said I could stay and swim with you. With him. As long as I beat you”  
“Then why the hell would you tell me to win?!”  
“Because it had to be good.”  
“You manipulated me into getting upset and angry and distressed and a whole other mess of emotions just to put on a good show?!”  
“Yes”  
“You are the single worst human being I have ever met”  
“Sorry, I don't understand English”  
“I didn't speak any damn English!”  
Haru cracked a smile, and immediately Rin softened, staring into the deepest blue eyes he'd ever known, the happiest he'd ever seen them.  
“Can I stay with you?” Haru asked, smiling softly  
“As long as you want” Rin nodded, choked up again as tears filled his eyes. “Forever”

When they got back to the apartment Haru immediately pulled off his medal and hung it with the others, dangling a little precariously over the kitchen bench. He hadn't seen Rin put them there, but it was no surprise that they'd ended up on display in some place or other, and when Rin caught up he turned around to take the silver from his pocket.  
“I know, silver goes in the trash” Rin sighed, cracking a smile “I'm not gonna lie, this is probably the first silver I've ever been okay with”  
Without a word he strung it up with the others, smiling to himself, and Rin watched him with a hint of disbelief.  
“We couldn't both win” Haru reminded him with a little smirk. “Someone had to take the gross one”  
“You're the worst”  
“We might need to find somewhere else to put them, my one tomorrow will end up over the stove”  
“Yeah, I'll find something better. I assume there will be plenty more to slowly add”  
“Slowly? That's not very reassuring”  
“You know what I mean”  
Haru smiled faintly as he draped one arm over Rin's shoulder, bringing their faces within inches of each other, and planted a quick little peck on his lips. It made Rin burn red, regardless of how many times they'd kissed in the past few days, which brought Haru immense satisfaction.  
“I'm proud of you” he smiled wryly, “you did well, it's a very nice silver”  
“Don't be patronising”  
“There's no shame in coming second”  
“Other people mean it when they say that, you just sound sarcastic”  
“It suits you, you should wear silver more often”  
“Okay, now you're just being mean”  
“You're done now, huh? You get to relax”  
“Yeah”  
“That means you have to cook, right?”  
“I'm pretty sure losing means I have to cook” he chuckled “but yeah”  
“And you have to be nice to me so I can win again tomorrow?”  
“What are you trying to ask?”  
“A massage would be nice”  
“Okay, I can do that” Rin chuckled “Just let me put dinner in to cook first”  
“Okay”  
Haru picked up his sketchbook as Rin began to cut vegetables, flipping through pages again, and the motion caught Rin's eye.  
“You said I could look when you were done, right?”  
“Yeah”  
“Are you done?”  
“I was lying” he smiled wryly, opening it to the back and flipping through pages of neat rows of text “I was practicing”  
“All that time I thought you were being all cute and creative, you were just embarrassed to admit you were working on your English?”  
“Yeah”  
“You don't have to hide that. I'll help you if you ever want it”  
“I know”  
He flipped back to the front and opened it to the little ribbon bookmark, holding it up on display.  
“Plus this, planning and stuff for the painting. Didn't really want you to see those”  
“Okay, that makes a little bit of sense. So you haven't put Sydney in your collection of travel sketches?”  
“No”  
“How come? Haven't seen anything that sparked your imagination?”  
“Because... That would mean I was leaving”  
“What?”  
“Travel sketches are for places I'm visiting and then leaving. I didn't want to think about leaving Sydney”  
“How long have you been thinking about this?”  
“Since I had that nightmare”  
“I didn't know it stuck with you that much”  
“You told me I could stay as long as I wanted, that night. And I knew what I wanted”  
“Forever?”  
“At least for a long time” Haru smiled faintly, closing the book again “my coach knew too”  
“Did you tell him you wanted to stay here?”  
“I tried to, but he said he already knew what I wanted to tell him. He said it was okay, he understood. I told you, he's nice, even if he expects too much from me. It's the other swimmers and the managers and things who aren't. They're not friends, like your team. They're fighting each other as much as they're fighting every other country”  
“That's the most words I've heard you say in years”  
“Shut up”  
Rin held out an arm for a hug and Haru obediently slotted himself under it, leaning against Rin's shoulder as he threw things in a pot and set it on the stove.  
“Okay, come on” Rin told him, nudging him toward the bedroom “Lie down and relax”  
“You promise you won't be a jerk?”  
“Promise”  
He pulled his shirt off and hid his smile in the pillow, letting out a long sigh as Rin climbed up beside him. Normally when Rin touched him he was determined to remember everything about it. The way his arms felt when they pulled him in tight, the way his hair brushed Haru's skin as they lay in bed, the sound of his heartbeat, the feel of every single fingertip. This time, though, he let himself relax and think about nothing, let himself enjoy the moment and acknowledge that there would be plenty more to come.


	14. Day 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's all drawing to a close.

Rin watched as Haru gathered his gear for the last day of competition, walking around the apartment with his jacket hanging open, his abs on full display, only stopping to run a finger lightly across the hanging medals and watch them clink together.  
If Rin didn't know any better, he would have said he was... Excited?  
“Had enough to eat?” he asked, smiling fondly as Haru continued to pace between rooms, “got a water bottle?”  
“Yes to both”  
“Jammer on?”  
“Yeah”  
“Towels? Snacks? Cap? Goggles?”  
“Yeah”  
“Sorted then, right?”  
“I think so”  
He stared at the medals again for a moment, contemplative.  
“Did you ever send a photo to Makoto?”  
“Not yet, been a little busy”  
“We should hang those above it and just not mention them”  
“You want to send him a photo with a silver in it?”  
“I don't see why not, it's not mine to be ashamed of”  
“Shut up” Rin laughed “Okay, we'd better wait until tonight then, when you've gotten the last one”  
“That was the plan”  
“You don't have an ounce of self-doubt in you, do you?”  
“Not for the pool. I only have a minute of competition left, I have to make the most of it”  
“A minute? How do you figure?”  
“Well it's only a fifty, and I have three rounds”  
“You think you're going to average twenty seconds a race?” Rin smirked “Really?”  
“Ideally I'd like to finish all three rounds in less than your fly time from the other day”  
“Yeah, that's gonna happen” Rin scoffed “What's are you going for, two eighteens and a sixteen?”  
“Near enough”  
“By all means”  
“I wish” he smiled slightly, downing the last of his glass of water “I'll take anything below twenty-two.”  
“What do you average?”  
“Twenty-two”  
“That makes a lot of sense”  
He finally zipped up his jacket, much to Rin's disappointment, and nodded toward the door.  
“We should go”  
“Lead the way”

It was strangely endearing to see Haru talking to the other competitors. It had started with the Australians, and when other people had seen the mix of tracksuit colours they'd quickly added to it, until a rainbow of young men were gathered to laugh together as they waited. Even Haru had managed a smile when one of them had said something to him and mimed toward his neck, something about his medal tally.   
“I forgot to tell you” Rin's coach spoke up, when Haru walked toward them “I need to see another record if you want to stick around”  
“Sure” Haru shrugged, without looking up to see the teasing grin. “Now or in finals?”  
“Now would be good, I'll take it in semis if you must”  
“Okay”  
He began to turn away, his tracksuit discarded, and the coach's expression quickly fell from amused to concerned.  
“Haru, wait! I was kidding, don't worry about-”  
“It's fine” Haru assured him, finally meeting his eyes. “If you want a record, I'll get you a record”  
“Haru does not stress” Rin told him with a laugh, as Haru walked away. “If he does, it's self-inflicted, and nothing you can say will affect it”  
“He's insane. Offering me a record in heats?”  
“Today is gonna be a good day for him” Rin smiled, watching him fondly “I haven't seen him like this in a long time”  
He took his place on the blocks, his heat finally up, returning the thumbs-up shot at him by someone a few lanes down. There wasn't an ounce of tension, of fear, of nerves, in any muscle of his body. It was like he'd had the best night of sleep in the world, like he hadn't competed in months and was eager to get back into it.  
Surprisingly, his dive was a split second late, too relaxed to react to the sound. He didn't even seem to notice it though, just swam and caught up like it was no big deal. It was still just as neat and clean as every other dive, where other swimmers would have fumbled. There were no turns, either, which Rin knew he would be happy about, even though his turns had gotten pretty damn impressive lately.  
When he climbed out of the pool at the other end and water poured off him, it looked like it belonged, like it wanted to stay clinging to his limbs. He wiped it off his face and shook it out of his hair, no urgency in him at all, before he turned to glance at the scoreboard.  
“Sorry” he told them, when he came back to grab the towel Rin held out “that was terrible”  
“Terrible” Rin scoffed “Because it was above your average?”  
“Yeah”  
“You understand how averages work, right?”  
“Yeah” Haru smirked “If I go slow again in the semi, I'll be a whole second under in finals”  
“Don't you dare” Rin punched him, grinning “that's not how it works!”  
“Mathematically it is”  
“No manipulating the data!”  
“Fine” he sighed “you're no fun”  
Rin hugged him despite his protests, laughing at him happily, and after a moment Haru cracked a little smile.  
“Feeling good today?”  
“Yeah”  
“I'm glad you're happy”  
“No matter what happens this evening, I've still beaten you” he pointed out “not just in a race, but in the medal tally too”  
“Yeah, yeah, just keep rubbing it in, won't you?”  
“At least until the next competition. You should have ditched the legskins earlier, I told you they'd make you slow”  
“Shut up, I'm not making any excuses for my performance. You were good. You were, if I dare say it, briefly better than me”  
“I think you've forgotten what the word 'briefly' means. You're looking for 'always' or maybe 'a lot', right?”  
“Go swim your damn race,” Rin laughed. “Show off”  
“Watch me”  
“I will”   
“I mean it. Don't look away”  
“I wouldn't dream of it”

Haru stretched out beside the pool as he waited for them to call up his round, wondering if his coach was going to say anything or if he was just going to stand there and watch.  
“Just make sure you're listening” he said finally “No more late starts. But you know that”  
“Mm, I will”  
“Did you talk to the Australian coach?”  
“Y-Yeah”  
“Good, then now's your chance to impress him. Don't wait for finals to go all out, you have hours to recover”  
“New record?” Haru smirked “I can do that”  
“Prove it” he smiled faintly. “Show me”  
“You got it”  
He stepped up to the blocks as soon as they began calling his group, and found himself smiling as he loaded up, making sure he was ready this time, to launch as soon as the buzzer sounded.  
There.  
He wasn't behind this time, he didn't need to catch up, but it wasn't worth conserving any energy. Like his coach had said, he had hours to recover. So he pretended. He stared at his own lane and he pretended Rin was next to him, slowly pulling ahead, laughing at him as he struggled to keep up.   
And this time, when he got to the end of the pool, he cared.  
He whipped around to look, pulling off his dripping goggles, and he searched for his name.  
And then, when he'd found it, he looked for Rin.   
He'd expected cheers and laughs and celebrating, but all he found was those familiar blood-red eyes, smiling as they looked straight at him. Then he found his coach. Both his coaches. Grinning at each other across the way, sharing the happiness.  
“Sorry” Haru offered, when he climbed out and walked back to join them “I'll do better in finals”  
“Haru, did you even look at the board?” Rin asked incredulously. “Do you know what those letters mean?”  
“Yeah, but I can do better”  
“You set a new event record”  
“That's not enough”  
“Not enough?! That's the second one you've broken this weekend!”  
“Yeah, but they're only event records” he took the towel again and wiped his face, throwing his damp swimming cap at Rin just to be a jerk “I need world”  
“You are seriously the most stuck up guy I know when you get fired up”  
“Do you want lunch? I'm hungry”  
He glanced back at his coach, who was now laughing and shaking hands with the Japanese one, and smiled to himself faintly.  
“Yeah, that sounds good” he agreed, turning to wave to the rest of his team “we'll be back before the next event, don't panic”  
“You've got ages, don't worry”  
“Mm, I know. See you in a bit”  
He considered taking Haru's hand or throwing an arm around his waist and decided it was a little too intimate for their proximity to the Japanese team, instead laying a hand lightly between his shoulder blades to guide him through the crowd. Haru didn't complain, so he figured it must have been a safe choice, and when they escaped the madhouse of the aquatic centre they both let out long sighs.  
“Loud” Rin said needlessly “Never notice how loud until I leave”  
“Yeah” Haru nodded “where do you want to go?”  
“I'm pretty sure you get to choose, record breaker”  
“I'm too tired to choose, you pick somewhere”  
“Home or out?”  
“Out”  
He saw Haru's smile waver a little, and couldn't decide if he should address it, so instead he just shifted his hand a little lower until it sat in the small of his back.  
“Okay, I know a place”

Haru stuffed himself like his life depended on it, against Rin's halfhearted advice, and guzzled down more water than Rin thought he could even hold. As much as he wanted to have faith, it made him a little concerned for how his final was going to go, if he was weighed down and tired.  
“Relax” Haru told him knowingly “I don't go up until after six”  
“I know, I know”  
“When do your friends go on?”  
“Not for another half hour”  
“Is there somewhere we can go for medal-hanging stuff?”  
“Oh, yeah, we can do that at the convenience store. You wanna go now?”  
“Yeah”  
“Okay cool”  
Haru's fingertips ran over Rin's arm as they walked, as if he were contemplating taking his hand, and Rin didn't say a word about it. After contemplation he obviously decided it was okay to be a little bit affectionate, and he slid his arm a little further to hold loosely around Rin's elbow. When Rin glanced over he looked a little bit awkward, but happy enough, so once again he decided to keep his mouth shut.  
“This kind, do you think?” He asked, holding up a box of hooks from the back of the store “or maybe smaller ones, so we can fit more of them in the gap”  
“Like these?”  
“Perfect”  
Even as they went up to the counter Haru didn't let go of his arm, and no-one looked twice as Rin paid and took the little plastic bag.  
“Twenty minutes” Haru updated him “assuming you weren't rounding before”  
“I was rounding down, so it's probably more like twenty-three”  
“Okay”  
“We may as well take these home, even if we don't have time to finish hanging everything”  
Haru's grip loosened, and this time Rin bit, giving him a little frown.  
“What are you cringing over this time?”  
“Don't call it that”  
“What are you talking about?”  
“Don't say home”  
“Why not?”  
“Because... Just because”  
He started to slip his arm away and Rin quickly grabbed his hand, giving him a slightly softer look this time.  
“Okay, I'm sorry, I won't”  
“Thank you”  
They walked back in silence, and it wasn't until they were in the door that Rin managed to string words together, as he started pulling the little stick-on hooks from their packaging.  
“Just so you know” he started softly “It's your home too. If you want it to be, I mean.”  
“Don't start”  
“I meant it when I said you can stay here forever. I already pay rent with my paycheck anyway, so it's not like you need to worry about money, and you have no idea how much happier I've been these past few weeks. Like, the one morning I woke up and you weren't there? I freaked out. I don't want to go through that every morning, I just want to wake up with you in my arms like we've been doing. I like it that way.”  
“I like it too”  
“Then move in here and live with me. Nothing would make me happier. If you leave it won't be home anymore.”  
“You wouldn't get sick of me?”  
“Never”  
“Okay”  
“Is that a yes?”  
“Yeah”  
He didn't even look back as he positioned the hooks Rin was handing over, despite Rin's massive grin at his back, and for a minute they were silent again.  
“I feel like Japan should always be home, though. For both of us. Don't you feel guilty?”  
“My family support me being here. Will yours?”  
“I don't know”  
“Or is it friends you're worried about? I'm sure Nagisa will cry, but won't Makoto at least be happy for you?”  
“I don't know”  
“If you really don't want me to say it, I won't. Just think about it and let me know”  
“Okay”  
He finished a neat row of hooks and glanced at his phone, nodding toward the door.  
“We should go, we can hang them later”  
“Sounds good. Do I get to hold your hand again?”  
“Ah... Only until the doors”  
“I can cope with that”  
They locked hands as soon as they both had their shoes on, and Rin smiled to himself as he locked the door behind them, stuffing the key into his pocket. He liked that Haru was growing bolder about being with him, and he suspected as soon as the international teams left it would get even easier.   
“Rin?”  
“Yeah?”  
“I'm really glad I came”  
“Yeah, me too”

The lights were blinding as he stared at the scoreboard, knowing his time was coming soon. Supposedly it wouldn't be his last time here, it might just be the first of a whole career of it, but still there was the nagging worry in the back of his mind that it wouldn't work, that they wouldn't let him stay, that this would be the last one for a long time, if not forever. He looked back to his coach's smile again, so much more relaxed than he'd been with any of the other team members, and Haru was surprised to find himself smiling back.  
“This is it, at least for a while”   
“Yeah”  
“Make it good, alright? You know what to do”  
“I will. Thank you for everything you've done. I know I wasn't always easy”  
“No-one who's worth it is ever easy. Now get up there and beat your own time”  
“Can do”  
He pulled his goggles down and marched up to the platform, admiring how the water seemed to be shining extra brightly just for him. He still didn't feel tense, or nervous, or any of those other things people claimed he was meant to feel, but this time at least he felt a hint of determination somewhere deep inside him. It was enough to focus, to forget about who was watching or who was standing around him, to just stare down at the lane that belonged to him, the finish line calling his name.

Rin was on the edge of his seat as hands started to slam into the wall, shaking as he looked up at the board and watched numbers start to pop up.   
There it was.  
“Who the hell gets three golds in one event?!” Rin folded his arms indignantly. “That shouldn't even be legal!”  
He was met with laughter and teasing, like he admittedly expected, but he was far more fascinated by watching the young man down below as he stared at the board, mouthing faint words to himself.   
“That's better than he did this morning, right?”  
“Significantly”  
“What do you call significant?”  
“Almost half a second”  
“Seriously? How on earth did he pull that off?”  
“I really wish I knew”  
He was finally making his way back toward them, and this time Rin didn't manage to restrain himself, diving at him despite the wet trails it left on his jacket.  
“Is that what you wanted?” He asked the question with a strange seriousness to it, as he looked over Rin's shoulder “sorry it took until finals”  
“Haru, I was joking” the coach laughed, “but I'm very impressed, if that's what you're after”  
“Thank you”  
“Are you going to hug me back or not?” Rin asked stubbornly “Look at you, my three time gold medalist”  
“And?”  
“And multiple record holder”  
“Okay then”  
He hugged Rin back briefly, not lingering for long, but enough to put a little smile on his face when they broke apart and he saw tears in Rin's eyes.   
“Crybaby”  
“Shut up”

“Of Japan, gold medalist and new world record holder, Haruka Nanase”  
He ducked his head slightly as they slipped the medal around his neck, smiling as they shook hands and congratulated him, then turned to shake hands with the people either side of him. He'd gotten the hang of it now, of not looking awkward during the ceremony, even if it had taken this long and a group of Australians with no sense of personal space for him to learn. He intended to put his arms around their shoulders like he'd seen Rin's teammates do, but realised just in time that he wasn't going to reach, and instead went for the waist while they laughed at him fondly. He knew a lot of people cried up here too, but there was no way he was capable of faking that one, so he settled for doing his best to smile as the cameras flashed at them.   
“I'm going to kiss you so damn much when we get back” Rin muttered in his ear, as soon as he got close enough “You're lucky I don't start here and now”  
“Do it, I dare you” Haru smirked. “You wouldn't”  
“Don't tempt me”  
He didn't get a chance to find out if Rin had really become that open, quickly interrupted by coaches from both countries coming over to see him, as well as teammates in green and gold that he now realised he should probably stop referring to as 'Rin's'.  
“I heard the good news, buddy!” one laughed, throwing an arm around him “Glad to have you on board!”  
“It's not official yet” Haru laughed awkwardly “I still have... Paperwork?”  
“That's just a formality” a second one scoffed, “you'll be cleared in no time”  
“And next time I'm taking that medal” the first declared, pointing to his chest “I'll be training twice as hard until I knock that record off the board”  
“Good luck” Haru smiled wryly “I'll be looking forward to it”  
He took all the teasing and laughter in stride, thanked them all for their congratulations, and when they walked out the door he immediately collapsed against Rin's side.  
“Tired?” he laughed “I'm not surprised”  
“So much talking”  
“The talking is what made you tired?”  
“Yeah”  
“You're ridiculous”  
“I know”

Haru finally got around to taking off his tracksuit after he'd chugged two bottles of water, contemplating for a moment before he stole Rin's from the back of the couch.  
“What do you think?” he asked with a smirk “Okay?”  
Rin turned around and froze when he saw, before his lips twisted into a smile.  
“Yeah, better than okay” he laughed, grabbing the medal and using it to pull Haru's lips to his. “Looks damn good, if you ask me”  
“I guess that means we're not hanging these just yet”  
“Give me two more minutes”  
Haru smirked, wrapping his arms around Rin's waist as they kissed again, moaning when Rin bit his lip lightly and trailed his kisses along Haru's jaw, biting at his neck.  
“Time out” Haru said breathlessly, flooding red “I need a minute”  
“Yeah, might want to go put some pants on”  
“I hate you”  
He ducked into the bedroom to change out of his swimsuit, but decided to keep Rin's jacket for the moment, still bright red when he returned and retrieved the medals from the kitchen.  
“Haru?”  
He turned around, stunned for a moment as Rin's phone clicked in his hand, then gave him a sarcastic look as he pointed the screen at Haru.  
“Really?”  
“I'm gonna send it to all your friends and caption it 'Haru has something to tell you' so you can't change your mind and back out”  
“I wouldn't”  
“Good”  
He distributed the fistful of medals across the hooks so they sat just above the painting, and Rin held him around the waist as he considered them.  
“We make a good team”  
“This would beg to differ” he smirked, poking the lone silver in the mix “your gold looks lonely”  
“Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna let that go for tonight, since I'm so damn proud of you”  
“Are you? Why?”  
Rin gave him an incredulous look, relieved when Haru cracked a smirk, and finally laughed it off as he pressed his lips to Haru's cheek.  
“Seriously though, I can't wait to tell everyone I'm dating a world-record holder”  
“It won't last, someone else will beat it soon”  
“They usually only get broken every few years”  
“Yeah, that's soon”  
“If you call that soon, I'm pretty happy about you saying you want to stay with me forever”  
“I do”  
“Good”

Rin picked up his phone again, holding it out at arm's length to take a photo, and sending it to Lori's number.  
'I don't think we're gonna make it tonight,' he wrote, 'rain check?'  
He smiled at the photo briefly before he hit send, setting it back down to stroke Haru's hair again as he slumbered, his head in Rin's lap. He still wore the dark green jacket he'd pinched from Rin, although he'd traded his jammer for a pair of baggy sweatpants, which Rin was pretty sure were also his. As an afterthought he nabbed Haru's phone from the coffee table and posed this time for the camera, sending it to a couple of familiar numbers for Haru to be embarrassed by in the morning. When he was satisfied that he'd been evil enough to make up for Haru's jabs at his silver he grabbed his pillow from the floor and leaned it against the back of the couch, closing his eyes to join Haru in dreamland.


	15. Day ???

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end.

Rin was gasping now as he hauled himself out of the pool, looking up at one of the guys who had deigned to hang around.  
“How was that?”  
“Twenty-one thirteen, not bad”  
“Not good enough. One more time”  
“Rin, they're only gonna get slower” he laughed “give yourself a break”  
“He's due back today, I have to get it this morning”  
“You have all the time in the world to beat him”  
“One more time”  
“Fine” he sighed, smiling fondly “one more”

Haru was ready to crash straight into bed. The hounding from his friends about Rin's photos had left him exhausted, and when he tried to fill them in he'd been constantly interrupted by squeals and excitement and cheers, depending who he was talking to. He'd even had to call Sousuke, since Rin had decided to be a prick and send them to him too, though he didn't seem at all surprised to hear it.  
Just like Rin predicted, Nagisa had cried when Haru told them he was leaving, although he seemed a little happy for him too. Makoto had been a lot more encouraging, reassuring him that Japan would always be there if he changed his mind, that he didn't have anything to lose.  
His parents, of course, had picked that particular week to be out of town again, and Haru had been forced to settle for leaving a letter on the kitchen counter, and a phone number to call him at when they got home.  
There were letters and presents in his suitcase both for him and for Rin, along with a collection of clothes and swim gear he'd figured would be useful, and that was the sole cause of his standing here, waiting at a baggage carousel for the airline to hurry up and get it off the plane.

Rin sprinted home to clean up before Haru got back, knowing he'd be in for a world of sarcasm and complaints if Haru came back to muddy floors and dirty laundry again, but no matter how rushed he felt he could never help but stop and look at the painting in the hall, the line of medals above it, almost entirely gold. They had a few more months before they could collect any more to add, but Haru had already hung the hooks – three for each of them, for the three events they each wanted to qualify for.  
Rin had called him ambitious, Haru had called him lazy.  
He'd had plenty of responses to the photos, most noticeably to Haru in Rin's jacket with a stack of medals in hand. That one had summed a lot of things up, really. He'd had to assure multiple people that no, they were not all Haru's medals, that yes, the silver was from their race together, and that no, Rin hadn't won. He'd made sure to tell them about the world record, too, since he figured Haru wouldn't do it himself. He was sure there were plenty of parties held for his return, as pained as Haru would have been to deal with them.  
The paperwork had gone through quickly, and Haru had been gone for less than a week in the end. Long enough to visit the immigration department and talk to his university, not long enough for him to have a sudden revelation about wanting to stay there.  
When the apartment was clean Rin showered and changed, collapsing onto the couch with a sigh to check his messages. He was sure they'd still be flooding in, considering he hadn't talked to some of them in years.

The trip back was a lot easier than he'd expected. He'd learned what his stations looked like, over the weeks he'd been here, so it was a lot harder to fear missing his stop. Not to mention he could vaguely understand the signs – enough to read the station names, at any rate.  
He couldn't have been more grateful that Rin's apartment – their apartment – was so close to the park station. It only took him a few minutes to drag his suitcase to the elevators and shoot his way up into the building, digging for a door key in his backpack.  
Rin would be back by now, admittedly, and would probably be listening intently to every footstep in the building so he could leap up and open the door. Haru would never admit that he was just as excited to be back as Rin was to have him back.

There was a key in the lock, and Rin jumped up, throwing his phone aside and freezing as he stared down the short hallway, locking fiery red eyes with the ocean blue ones in the doorway.  
“Haru” he said softly, his voice barely a whisper.  
“Rin”  
The door slammed closed behind him as Rin grabbed him in a hug, worried for a split second that he might hurt him before Haru hugged him back just as tightly.  
“I missed you so much”  
“I missed you too”  
Haru's eyes were infuriatingly dry, as Rin's filled enough for both of them. He started to hiccup a little in holding back the sobs, and Haru put just enough distance between them to see what was going on, laughing when he saw the tears trailing down Rin's cheeks.  
“Rin” he said again softly, wiping away a tear with his soft fingertips “I'm home”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for all the support guys! Reading your comments is the highlight of my day <3
> 
> Please check my profile for info on upcoming fics etc!


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